Friday 22nd March 2019

PistonHeads Sporting Tour South: Update!

Join PH as we tour along 170 miles of Kent's stunning countryside in the spring sunshine (we hope)

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UPDATE - 22/03/19

There's just over three weeks to go until the first PH Sporting Tour of the year in Kent on April 13th. The sun is starting to shine again, the days are getting longer, the Tulip route book is ready and our autotests are all set for Brands Hatch!

To celebrate the new additions to our calendar, we're launching PH Points, which will be earned at each Sporting Tour this year. And points mean prizes for you and your co-driver. For each event you attend in 2019 you'll be awarded 10 PH Points, which will get you the following:

10 PH Points - two mugs
20 PH Points - two t-shirts
30 PH Points - two hoodies

Trophies will also be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd fastest times on the autotests, being run at Brands Hatch circuit, including the tarmac rally stage (avoiding the gravel section).

Check out the entrants' Wiki to see who's already booked on and get signed up today! If you're not able to make the first event, register your interest with GT Motorsports Club here to keep up to date with our next two events later in the year.

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We're excited to announce that the PistonHeads Sporting Tour South is now open for booking, taking place in Kent on the 13th April.

The one-day event will tour 170 miles of beautiful country roads, with lunch and two timed tests at Brands Hatch circuit. Each competitor will have a start time, but as most of the driving takes place on public roads, there will be no other timing involved other than the tests. You'll make your way to check points, where marshals will stamp your route book before setting off on the next stage of the rally.

Your co-driver will need to brush up on their map reading skills, as you'll navigate the route with a Tulip Road Book with no satnav in sight. The book plots out the distances, directions and junctions you need to navigate throughout the route, making for a refreshing change from the need for technology. Seasoned motorsport competitors are welcome but this event is perfect for novices who want to take their first step onto the ladder.

For those of you who joined us in October, we've listened to your requests; the road sections are longer with less smaller roads, and excitingly we're laying on some bigger auto tests at MSV circuits. This has resulted in a slightly higher entry cost of £180 per car, but we're confident it'll be worth it.

Our base for the start and finish will be the Mercure Great Danes Hotel (Maidstone), with the auto tests using a section of the GP circuit and the tarmac rally stage at Brands Hatch. The event is authorised and permitted by Motorsport UK.

Entries for PistonHeads Sporting Tour South are now open and are available on a first come first served basis here.

Once you've signed up, add yourself to the entrants Wiki here.

[Norbury90]

Just making a mental note to pack my mankini for the hotel pool

[Norbury90]

speech said:

Sounds a great idea... I learned to drive at Brands Hatch so always good to return. Plus it's just after my birthday

My only concern is do I need to get any additional insurance for the track stage? I have a leased car so not sure if that's possible.

There is an option to get insurance when you book, I think it was 25 or 30 quid. Not sure of the small print though.

[Norbury90]

Ah sorry! I thought that it was for the tests last time out, didn't realise it was set up differently this time.

[Norbury90]

I would also love a PH-only trackday at Anglesey... although the date at Oulton in September sounds promising, not sure if that is limited to PH though.

[Norbury90]

will-w said:

Good morning all

My navigator has changed from when I entered the event; do I need to tell anyone beforehand?

I have updated the wiki with his name, but wasn't sure if you'd need anything else before the day?

Thanks

I think it would probably be a good idea to update your entry on the GT website with the correct details, but other than that I doubt you need to do anything.

Also, the weather is looking friendly, our car has passed it's MOT, I'm looking forward to this.

[Norbury90]

Just reinstalled Rally Tripmeter, the same one I used for the last Tour. It wants me to pay this time around! I will have to hunt around for a new one to use.



It's nice being a bit more prepared this time around though, we were still downloading the app as we set off on the Tour itself last time

[Norbury90]

I thought the route was really good, not much you can do about poorly surfaced roads but there was a good amount of twisties.

My spiel about being more prepared this time around didn't quite work, we realised we didn't have a pen 5 minutes before our start time and our trip meter spectacularly failed to work all day. Typical.

[Norbury90]

Were you the chap standing in the middle of the field? You were difficult to spot out there haha.

[Norbury90]

Was it just me, or was there a good half a dozen paid entries that didn't appear? Maybe I just didn't see them but I'm sure there was a few that didn't show up.

Marco, good to hear the Aston was sliding about on the time trials. Shame the parking wasn't nearby, would have loved to have been able to see it.

[Norbury90]

I thought we had got away with clipping a cone on the slalom... turns out we hadn't.

Good work to the Clio driver, helps my belief that my Clio is faster than the Elise we were in. I will try and upload some footage of our runs at some point.

[Norbury90]

illmonkey said:

That was us. Following you was good, above board, nothing silly country lane driving When you bottomed out in the dip on the open bit of road, ouch

We figured K-series, so 120bhp? It definitely shifted though! For your comparison, mine is standard engine wise, just on cook sport springs, camber, brembos and a few other usual things.

Haha the suspension travel was a touch inadequate for quite a lot of the roads we were on, it felt a bit brutal! It is 135bhp, but they are quite well matched to a 182 in my experience too.

Are you planning on doing either of the other Tours? My 182 should be taking part in both of them with any luck.