Oulton Park 8th June
Discussion
).Fantastic day weather wise but oh dear, what disappointing driving standards. There were at least NINE red flag stoppages, three of which were on my outlaps ! Very frustrating. There were probably many more I didn't see.
Cars were coming out of the pit lane, clearly on cold tyres & careering off at full chat, only to stuff it a few corners later.
One guy in a grey golf with black chequered markings on the back, came tearing out of the pit lane & drove right across the yellow pit-lane merge line, straight into the path of a car on a flying lap (i.e. me). He then drove like all his driving experience had been gained in the local B&Q car-park on a Sunday night. If he'd have been on an RMA day, he'd have been sent straight home.
Many also went out having "disconnected" their rear view mirror, holding up faster cars through the corners & then wandering & weaving all down the straights.
Some guy in a Caterham drove over half a lap dumping oil on the track, much of it unfortunately on the racing line. It was easy to folow the oil trail back into the paddock to find out who the culprit was. Friend of mine followed the trail & pointed out what he'd done. Apparently, he admitted he knew he was dumping oil & just said he thought it better to carry on back to the paddock. Given the speed one enters Druids & the nature of the corner anyway, to be knowingly dumping oil on the line through there is mindless.
Can't really blame Easytrack - their briefing was good & I know they were frustrated themselves by all the red flag stoppages & general standards.
Overall, the 2nd worst day I've seen for standards & track etiquette, but fortunately the weather made up for some of that & still a great day.
Cars were coming out of the pit lane, clearly on cold tyres & careering off at full chat, only to stuff it a few corners later.
One guy in a grey golf with black chequered markings on the back, came tearing out of the pit lane & drove right across the yellow pit-lane merge line, straight into the path of a car on a flying lap (i.e. me). He then drove like all his driving experience had been gained in the local B&Q car-park on a Sunday night. If he'd have been on an RMA day, he'd have been sent straight home.
Many also went out having "disconnected" their rear view mirror, holding up faster cars through the corners & then wandering & weaving all down the straights.
Some guy in a Caterham drove over half a lap dumping oil on the track, much of it unfortunately on the racing line. It was easy to folow the oil trail back into the paddock to find out who the culprit was. Friend of mine followed the trail & pointed out what he'd done. Apparently, he admitted he knew he was dumping oil & just said he thought it better to carry on back to the paddock. Given the speed one enters Druids & the nature of the corner anyway, to be knowingly dumping oil on the line through there is mindless.
Can't really blame Easytrack - their briefing was good & I know they were frustrated themselves by all the red flag stoppages & general standards.
Overall, the 2nd worst day I've seen for standards & track etiquette, but fortunately the weather made up for some of that & still a great day.
I was there too and agree with everything you say (including the fact that there was little that Easytrack could have done other than get everyone in for another briefing over lunch). It was massively frustrating that there were so many red flags and such inconsistency in overtaking etiquette but, as you say, it was a top quality nevertheless.
Three questions:
1. Have you any idea what that Black Batmobile was?
2. One of the red flags seemed to be caused by someone coming off alongside the pit wall (I was in the paddock at the time and just saw a load of smoke). How?
3. Was the guy in the munched Elise OK - I just saw the car on the wagon and it looked like a real mess.
Three questions:
1. Have you any idea what that Black Batmobile was?
2. One of the red flags seemed to be caused by someone coming off alongside the pit wall (I was in the paddock at the time and just saw a load of smoke). How?
3. Was the guy in the munched Elise OK - I just saw the car on the wagon and it looked like a real mess.
philr1 said:
I was there too and agree with everything you say (including the fact that there was little that Easytrack could have done other than get everyone in for another briefing over lunch). It was massively frustrating that there were so many red flags and such inconsistency in overtaking etiquette but, as you say, it was a top quality nevertheless.
Three questions:
1. Have you any idea what that Black Batmobile was?
2. One of the red flags seemed to be caused by someone coming off alongside the pit wall (I was in the paddock at the time and just saw a load of smoke). How?
3. Was the guy in the munched Elise OK - I just saw the car on the wagon and it looked like a real mess.
1. Do you mean the fastest thing on the track ?
Didn't see it in the paddock so can't be sure but if it's the car I'm thinking of, it looked more like a Jaguar JP1 than a Radical SR3.
2. Didn't know anything about this. Maybe he had a burst tyre or suspension failure. Maybe wasn't a impact at all, just a fire etc. As you say, odd place to come to grief otherwise.
3. Assuming it was the same Elise, yes I'm sure he was OK. I saw him standing alongside the car moments after it had happened, on the nearside just before the first apex into Druids. The car had gone in backwards. When I saw the car in the paddock, although the nearside rear wheel was at 90' to the axle, all tyres were still inflated, so tyre burst not the cause. Again on odd place to go in backwards, as most offs at Druids are 50 yds or so further on, across the grass & into the armco. Most likely caused by an over zealous approach speed, panic set in & lifted and/or braked on the turn in thus inducing a spin. Ran out of talent before running out of track.
>> Edited by 55jnj on Thursday 9th June 20:17
philr1 said:
It was indeed rapid. I had a ride in a JP1 last year and I could swear this thing was much bigger (and also had space for only one seat. All I could see upfront were a couple of badges saying 'Zeus' but that meant nothing to me.
Ah, it is the car I'm thinking of then. The JP1 started life as a pure-bred racing car (the Zeus Challenger). Jonathan Palmer then acquired the rights to Zeus & it evolved into a corporate entertainment tool, gaining Jaguar V6 power in the process.
The Zeus & JP1 bodyshell are basically the same & could be configured for (cosy) 2 seats or single seat.
>> Edited by 55jnj on Thursday 9th June 20:53
I think you are talking about my Zeus Challenger, it was the Zeus factory race car, built in 2000 and raced very succesfully for 2 years before the factory sold it direct to me, with moulds a rook of spares and a promise of full support with it. I intended running it in Supersports, fancying a change from Formula 3 that I was racing in at the time, but by the time I had moved house, got my race prep and fast road car / engine prep business underway again, and generally got things together the Supersports series was no more and Zeus had folded, Jonathan Palmer buying the rights to the car which became a 2 seater track day car with a Ford (Jaguar) V6 in it. My car has a 220 or so BHP Opel / Vauxhall 16 valve 2 litre on carbs in it, to the old Supersport regs. It is now serving me well for some track day fun. To be honest it's not much slower than my 1996 Dallara F3 Mugen, it has a load of downforce and is a dream to drive. Build quality is superb and it's been a lot of fun, for a lot less than a new JP1, and probably quite a bit quicker as it's a good deal lighter. I was going to sell it, but every time I drive it I change my mind.... 
Too many stoppages, full marks to the marshalls though, flagging was excellent and they worked over time to repair the barriers. Glad the Lotus driver is OK, could have been nasty. Great weather!
Too many stoppages, full marks to the marshalls though, flagging was excellent and they worked over time to repair the barriers. Glad the Lotus driver is OK, could have been nasty. Great weather!
Guys, I was there as a spectator and it was an awesome day, if a little too hot for the cars ( the Noble M400 looked absolutely cooked when it came in for the final time!).
The Batmobile was indeed a Jaguar JP1 which was quick even from where I was stood!
Anyone know who the very friendly chap was who had the 575M Maranello? It looked superb going around and he wasn't too afraid to give it some either!
How did that Lotus 340R do? I only saw it on its out lap.
Combover
The Batmobile was indeed a Jaguar JP1 which was quick even from where I was stood!
Anyone know who the very friendly chap was who had the 575M Maranello? It looked superb going around and he wasn't too afraid to give it some either!
How did that Lotus 340R do? I only saw it on its out lap.
Combover
I think the Elise was unfortunate enough to spin on the oil that had been laid down. Probably hit it under braking for Druids when the car is still turning left after the kink - hence the reason he ended up where he did. Glad to hear he was OK, and I hope he had insurance, as that's a pretty horrible way to have an accident.
It was my first Easytrack day, and the briefings were as good as any I've seen, so it seemed pretty unfortunate there were so many stoppages. It wasn't until mid afternoon that I got some decent laps in - so much so that I cooked my Fury's rectifier - never good to get a smell of burning plastic wafting into your helmet
.
It was my first Easytrack day, and the briefings were as good as any I've seen, so it seemed pretty unfortunate there were so many stoppages. It wasn't until mid afternoon that I got some decent laps in - so much so that I cooked my Fury's rectifier - never good to get a smell of burning plastic wafting into your helmet
.Hi guys, I'm one of the peeps that helps run Easytrack.
It was one of our, er, more challenging days.
Several key factors influenced the day:
1. The number of mechanical failures based primarily on poor maintenance.
2. Astonishing level of tunnel vision - some very selfish driving.
3. Our first truly hot and dry day of the year - exacerbated the reliability issues, and maybe cooked a few brains too.
4. The oil spillage. Bit disappointing, that. I'd urge anybody who hits a kerb hard to invest a few seconds slowing drastically, getting off the racing line, checking their mirrors for evidence of oil or debris and then their instruments/warning lights for signs of failure and then getting as far off the track as possible.
Most times we'd say slow down and get to the pits if it's making a funny noise, but there are occasions when parking it is the only course of action.
Elise man suffered slight aches and pains; last I heard he was OK. Heartbreaking about his car, though - he might have been at the wheel, but he was a passenger when he arrived at that oil.
Not our typical stop-start day, in fact I think somebody said there were more reds that day than in the previous month's track days put together.
The vast majority of cars and drivers behaved impeccably, the difficulties were down to a handful who have been given clear guidance about their future preparation for, and conduct at, Easytrack days.
It was one of our, er, more challenging days.
Several key factors influenced the day:
1. The number of mechanical failures based primarily on poor maintenance.
2. Astonishing level of tunnel vision - some very selfish driving.
3. Our first truly hot and dry day of the year - exacerbated the reliability issues, and maybe cooked a few brains too.
4. The oil spillage. Bit disappointing, that. I'd urge anybody who hits a kerb hard to invest a few seconds slowing drastically, getting off the racing line, checking their mirrors for evidence of oil or debris and then their instruments/warning lights for signs of failure and then getting as far off the track as possible.
Most times we'd say slow down and get to the pits if it's making a funny noise, but there are occasions when parking it is the only course of action.
Elise man suffered slight aches and pains; last I heard he was OK. Heartbreaking about his car, though - he might have been at the wheel, but he was a passenger when he arrived at that oil.
Not our typical stop-start day, in fact I think somebody said there were more reds that day than in the previous month's track days put together.
The vast majority of cars and drivers behaved impeccably, the difficulties were down to a handful who have been given clear guidance about their future preparation for, and conduct at, Easytrack days.
Good response Iain. All who've made a comment about the poor driving standards of some on the day, have also said, without exception, that Easytrack were not felt to be at fault. The briefing was fine but some clearly decided not to listen/take any notice.
May be an idea to include in future briefings, how to exit the pit-lane. In all my years of doing track days, I've never had any one belt out of the pit-lane on what must have been cold tyres, straight across the yellow merge line & into the line of much faster lapping traffic, as the guy in the grey golf (?) with black chequered markings did to me. It was highly dangerous & forced me to swerve at speed to avoid him. To compound things, he then held me up for the best part of a lap. I could have easily passed him on many occasions without slowing him down at all, but without a clear signal from him that he had seen me (i.e. overtake only by consent) & the standard of driving displayed on his exit from the pit-lane, I didn't feel it was safe to do so.
I realise I should have reported the incident to you so that the driver could have been identified & spoken to, but I didn't & I regret that.
Although I was a bit taken aback by Graham Clarke's very forthright & somewhat aggressive style when first experienced on an RMA day a few years ago, I have come to realise that for a track day to be successful & safe, the TDOs do need to be forceful with those who, either through their selfishness or general stupidity, spoil the day for others.
"Disconnecting" the rear view mirror on a track day is a reflection of the sort of driving standards we see on UK motorways all the time. On the continent, slower cars generally move over to let faster cars pass. It doesn't slow the slower car down at all - they are just now in a different lane. In that way, the average speed of the motorway generally is much faster. In the UK, whilst realising the volume of traffic is heavier of course, we have the "I'm doing 70 & therefore have eery right to stay in the outside lane" mentality.
If a car comes up behind you in the rear view mirror, that wasn't there the corner before, it's because it's quicker than you !. In which case,regardless of the type of car it is, move over as quickly as possible to alow a smooth passage for everyone.
At RMA's day at the Nurburgring at the end of May, we had overtaking through the corners on EITHER side allowed, but obviously strictly by consent. Graham made it clear at the beginning that anyone whose driving standards were below what is expected would be banned immediately. Harsh it may sound, but it resulted in no incidents at all & much faster lapping times, because of the aforementioned either side/corners rule.
I'm sure Easytrack will learn from the Oulton experience, as is evidenced by your precise summary of what caused most of the problems & next time out will be better still. I'm certainly looking forward to joining you again soon.
Well done again anyway, for an excellent day overall.
>> Edited by 55jnj on Saturday 11th June 10:28
May be an idea to include in future briefings, how to exit the pit-lane. In all my years of doing track days, I've never had any one belt out of the pit-lane on what must have been cold tyres, straight across the yellow merge line & into the line of much faster lapping traffic, as the guy in the grey golf (?) with black chequered markings did to me. It was highly dangerous & forced me to swerve at speed to avoid him. To compound things, he then held me up for the best part of a lap. I could have easily passed him on many occasions without slowing him down at all, but without a clear signal from him that he had seen me (i.e. overtake only by consent) & the standard of driving displayed on his exit from the pit-lane, I didn't feel it was safe to do so.
I realise I should have reported the incident to you so that the driver could have been identified & spoken to, but I didn't & I regret that.
Although I was a bit taken aback by Graham Clarke's very forthright & somewhat aggressive style when first experienced on an RMA day a few years ago, I have come to realise that for a track day to be successful & safe, the TDOs do need to be forceful with those who, either through their selfishness or general stupidity, spoil the day for others.
"Disconnecting" the rear view mirror on a track day is a reflection of the sort of driving standards we see on UK motorways all the time. On the continent, slower cars generally move over to let faster cars pass. It doesn't slow the slower car down at all - they are just now in a different lane. In that way, the average speed of the motorway generally is much faster. In the UK, whilst realising the volume of traffic is heavier of course, we have the "I'm doing 70 & therefore have eery right to stay in the outside lane" mentality.
If a car comes up behind you in the rear view mirror, that wasn't there the corner before, it's because it's quicker than you !. In which case,regardless of the type of car it is, move over as quickly as possible to alow a smooth passage for everyone.
At RMA's day at the Nurburgring at the end of May, we had overtaking through the corners on EITHER side allowed, but obviously strictly by consent. Graham made it clear at the beginning that anyone whose driving standards were below what is expected would be banned immediately. Harsh it may sound, but it resulted in no incidents at all & much faster lapping times, because of the aforementioned either side/corners rule.
I'm sure Easytrack will learn from the Oulton experience, as is evidenced by your precise summary of what caused most of the problems & next time out will be better still. I'm certainly looking forward to joining you again soon.
Well done again anyway, for an excellent day overall.
>> Edited by 55jnj on Saturday 11th June 10:28
I have often thought that people who want to go racing should actually go an a race test day. I had a bad experience on my first track day 2 years ago with EasyTrack... some nutter in a Lancia Stratos 'lunging' as if he was on the last lap of a huge prize money race. Give it a rest boys, you can maybe afford to trash your car but the vast majority of us want a safe day. (Easytrack dealt with him swiftly as I recall).
Similarly, for those of you who are middle lane drivers... if a car catches you he/she is obviously quicker... let them go past and enjoy a hassle free day.
Of course, add rain to both these scenarios and it becomes very dangerous.
Similarly, for those of you who are middle lane drivers... if a car catches you he/she is obviously quicker... let them go past and enjoy a hassle free day.
Of course, add rain to both these scenarios and it becomes very dangerous.
Major faux pas on my part - I also meant to say what a fantastic job the marshalls did through all this. Brilliant.
The credit for good organisation needs to go to Tim Newman and his team.
Meantime, back to the issue of impatience, awareness and observation.
I occasionally lead the sighting laps - and, like the rest of the EzT team who take turns, we each make the same comments: as early as the first lap of the sighting session you can spot who's going to be parking it in the gravel once the day starts properly.
Sighting laps on track days are not safety-car restarts at GPs; there's no need to zig-zag to get the tyres warmed, no need to brake and accelerate hard half way down a straight, no point in keep rushing up behind the car in front: we're not JPM looking to get the jump on Kimi ...
The whole point is that taking it easy at the start of the day - and at the start of each of your sessions - and investing a minute or so of the 420 minutes we have on a full day (assuming you have eight sessions, that's 1.9% of the available track time) will inevitably mean you get even more track time: you don't go off on cold tyres or through mechanical failure, and you don't get sent home. Crucially, you don't halt the event for everybody else - and it remains safe.
In terms of awareness and observation, it is not our view that going fast is impressive - but being aware of what's going on around you is.
Something "slower than your car" arrives behind you mighty suddenly, well, think of it this way: most cars will brake to the corner speed in as little as 5% of the distance it takes to regain that speed on the next straight. On a track day some drivers brake up to 50 yards later than others. Apex speeds can vary by up to 40mph ...
If there are ten braking points, then that car will gain up to 500 yards on you in a single lap on braking alone; but if your car is more powerful, then how frustrating is it for the faster guy in the slower car who's working so hard to maintain ultimate pace when he tries to out-drag 400 bhp to get past you only to fail and be forced to brake a fortnight earlier than he wants at the next corner?
A couple of us were running-in one of the Caterham school cars using 5th and 6th gears and 4,000 revs at Oulton - we were still slowed by lack of observation by a handful of drivers.
Letting the fast guy go by is far bigger and far more impressive, as is the driver who spots the flags 200 yards ahead, the dirt or gravel on the track or sticks religiously to warm-up and warm-down laps.
The credit for good organisation needs to go to Tim Newman and his team.
Meantime, back to the issue of impatience, awareness and observation.
I occasionally lead the sighting laps - and, like the rest of the EzT team who take turns, we each make the same comments: as early as the first lap of the sighting session you can spot who's going to be parking it in the gravel once the day starts properly.
Sighting laps on track days are not safety-car restarts at GPs; there's no need to zig-zag to get the tyres warmed, no need to brake and accelerate hard half way down a straight, no point in keep rushing up behind the car in front: we're not JPM looking to get the jump on Kimi ...
The whole point is that taking it easy at the start of the day - and at the start of each of your sessions - and investing a minute or so of the 420 minutes we have on a full day (assuming you have eight sessions, that's 1.9% of the available track time) will inevitably mean you get even more track time: you don't go off on cold tyres or through mechanical failure, and you don't get sent home. Crucially, you don't halt the event for everybody else - and it remains safe.
In terms of awareness and observation, it is not our view that going fast is impressive - but being aware of what's going on around you is.
Something "slower than your car" arrives behind you mighty suddenly, well, think of it this way: most cars will brake to the corner speed in as little as 5% of the distance it takes to regain that speed on the next straight. On a track day some drivers brake up to 50 yards later than others. Apex speeds can vary by up to 40mph ...
If there are ten braking points, then that car will gain up to 500 yards on you in a single lap on braking alone; but if your car is more powerful, then how frustrating is it for the faster guy in the slower car who's working so hard to maintain ultimate pace when he tries to out-drag 400 bhp to get past you only to fail and be forced to brake a fortnight earlier than he wants at the next corner?
A couple of us were running-in one of the Caterham school cars using 5th and 6th gears and 4,000 revs at Oulton - we were still slowed by lack of observation by a handful of drivers.
Letting the fast guy go by is far bigger and far more impressive, as is the driver who spots the flags 200 yards ahead, the dirt or gravel on the track or sticks religiously to warm-up and warm-down laps.
Chris wilson said:
Anyone know the guy in the purple Skyline R34 GTR? It must have been a genuine 500 plus BHP donkey in it, lots of grunt in a straight line!
That is my brother's car and it's well over 500 BHP I can assure you. He also took his orange Evo that is always one of the quickest cars round Oulton.
I was in my Megabusa Turbo
And my E30 M3
Have to agree about some of the red flags etc but the weather made up for it so no complaints from me!
Thanks, has he had any problems with the tubular manifold for the TO4 cracking, or the wastegate extension cracking? I have an Apexi cast iron exhaust manifold but it's got an oddball IHI flange, and I really want to keep it on my road engine with associated IHI turbo. I am VERY wary of tubular turbo manifolds on cars that get serious usage, even the car manufacturers have grief, Porsche did with the 944 turbo, and Ford had horrible problems with early Cosworth Sierras, and they were cast iron, AFAIK!
Is this a Rod Bell engine? Rod mentioned he had someone doing track days with a TO4Z set up?
Thanks for the info.
Is this a Rod Bell engine? Rod mentioned he had someone doing track days with a TO4Z set up?
Thanks for the info.
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