New to the Forum

[slaphead]

Hello and Welcome Maxx

Impressive CV look forward to meeting you at a trackday / meet soon.

~Mark

[Bubble]

Welcome Maxx and what an interesting read about your day job, far more exciting than most of ours I'm sure.

[Ben]

Maxx, welcome onboard - what a great entrance. I'm buying an MR2 Roadster in the next few months - so get some piccies up.

Ben,

Thanks for the welcome. I'll certainly post a few pics. The MR2 was a bit of a revelation for me. I'd always been an Elise fan as I used to work on all the Lotus Skills courses we ran at Rockingham and we did a lot of work in Elises. If it was up to me I would have had one for the road but it would be waaaay too hardcore for my better half. The MR2 was an impulse buy in the spring of 2005. It was only intended as a summer drive but I loved it so much I've run it every day, ever since. I also never expected much on track. I often get the chance to do a few laps on the trackdays I work on and I do some other work that gets me out on track myself. I was delighted with the balance of the MR2 and it handled really well, a bit soft and noticeable chassis flex but you'd expect that. I had some TTE springs put on (lowered it by 30m, plus stiffened it up "a little") and also had a chassis brace fitted.

Car was much improved, not as hardcore as Elise but still huge fun and in my view, a better training car as you could feel the weight moving around more. I've even used it on a number of my Drift Academy days, it hasn't got the power to do a full power drift but if you get sufficient momentum it does drift quite well (for a rear engined car).

It's also extremely practical. Great Roof and pretty comfortable on a run. The TTE springs actually improved the ride quality (even my wife said so). Bit limited for storage but no worse than any other of this type of car.

M.

First week we have it, going to have TTE springs fitted - also going to remove the front wheel tray - you can replace it apparently and gain a load of space - carry tyre filler instead of the wheel.

Have yoou got a revision 1 or 2 roadster - we are hoping to get a rev 2 with the 6 speed box - can't wait now after reading your post - Jo wants to do a few track days (I bet she is out before Gareth )

[Maxx]

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome, will be answering the posts in due course but first, here is a pic of the MR2



Now Then .... about that rather "chavvy" number-plate which I am always getting ribbed about. It was a birthday present from one of my sons and I hadn't the heart not to use it. Been pulled a couple of times for it already so next time it will end up coming off.

M.

[Maxx]

First week we have it, going to have TTE springs fitted - also going to remove the front wheel tray - you can replace it apparently and gain a load of space - carry tyre filler instead of the wheel.

Have yoou got a revision 1 or 2 roadster - we are hoping to get a rev 2 with the 6 speed box - can't wait now after reading your post - Jo wants to do a few track days (I bet she is out before Gareth )

Ben,

Mines a 2001 rev 1. The Rev2 does have some additional member bracing (which is good) and also some additional side impact protection (good, but adds a bit of weight).
As you say it has the 6-speed box but from what i've heard it is just like an overdrive gear, useful for motorway cruising (although 5th is ample for legal speeds) but I would have preferred tighter ratios (just seems a bit long between 2nd and 3rd).
You can easily remove the front wheel tray and although it gives you some extra nook and cranny type spaces they are not that usable (as there are pipes, brake sylinders, power steering fluid etc. etc.). You can certainly ditch the space saver and gain space there. It is surprising what you can actually get in the 2 cabinets behind the driver and passenger seats. You also have some "parcel shelf" type space when the roof is up.
We really thought we'd have to invest in a 2nd (4 seat) car just for those "shopping" trips but we have generally managed. We always said if we couldn't get it all in we'd get a taxi for one of us with the shopping (cheaper than buying a 2nd car). So far though we've not needed it.

The springs will help cut down the body roll and tighten things up a bit, they certainly make the car look better, however, it was the TTE chassis bracing that had the biggest effect for me. It's not cheap though at

[Maxx]

Hello and Welcome Maxx

Impressive CV look forward to meeting you at a trackday / meet soon.

~Mark

Mark,

Many Thanks. Thats a neat looking track car you have there no room for an instructor though

M.

[Maxx]

Welcome Maxx and what an interesting read about your day job, far more exciting than most of ours I'm sure.

Geoff,

Thanks for the welcome. My job, yes it does have it's upsides. Some days you really can't beleive your also getting paid but for every one of those there are a dozen or more that (although I still enjoy them) are not that exciting. Thats not me being blase <spelling> it's just that like every job, you never really see the full picture from the outside.

I have a good day coming up this Saturday at Donington. If I'm on what I think I'm on I will be pacing on Single Seaters. This means we drive one of the Formula Rockingham (we use these at Dony) cars and act as a pace car for those who have booked the single seater activity. They get to drive the track first with an instructor next to them in an MG then get 20mins in the single seaters. We start off at a medium pace then up the speed on each lap. Our main task is to get the following cars on the RIGHT pace. For most this will feel ridiculously quick in the fast bits and slow in the slow bits but as most of you have found out, thats the way with track driving (most have never driven on a track before). We do get some trackday drivers, karters and ex racers so we are often driving the cars pretty quick so is great fun for us. Also, many book a "super" which gives you 2 x 20 minute sessions. A reasonably good driver will be going pretty quick by the second run. The cars are quite quick, 1.8ltr Zetec (tuned) with semi-slicks and wings, size and looks of an F3 car (will post pic later). Not as quick as F3 as a bit heavier BUT they are head and shoulders above the usual Formula Ford school cars you might drive at other venues (these only run at Rockingham and Donington).

A great day but a long day. We all have to muck in setting up and breaking down, so it will be a 7:30 start and 18:00 or more finish. OK for me 15mins down the road but many of the cars have a 2hr drive (which I do to other venues).

Conversely I did a day the other week on the Donington "loop". This is the extra bit they add to make the GP circuit. We use it as an elongated oval. It was a corporate day and in the morning I did 1-to-1s in an MG. This entailed driving 3 customers at a time around the loop about 6 laps at slow speed, explaining technique etc. I would then sit next to them 1 by 1 as they drove 6-8 laps to get them used to track driving. This was all morning, about 20+ guests. Often it would be the same in the afternoon but I actual did blind drive in the afternoon. Here we get 2 per car, one blinfold, the other in the back shouting instructions around a complicated "autotest type" course. The wrinkle is they can use any word apart from left or right. Instead of left they have to say "Whoof" and for right it's "Meoow!". It's actually a lot of fun but I don't think exciting is the word. This I'd count as a mediocre day there are some worse but thankfully as a bit of a veteran I am spared most of the really boring days (Strapping In, Flag Marshalling, Cone Pickup etc. etc.).

Relevant to Big Power was one of my favorite days, happened about 2 years ago. One of my usual jobs then (and often now) is Supercar instructor, by this they mean Ferrari/Porsche/Lambo/Viper/Noble etc. Usually this is just sitting alongside complete track novices and helping them enjoy the car and keep it in one piece (a feat I managed all but twice). This particular day was a corporate and I was given the task of doing passenger rides. Now we usually used a Lotus Exige/Honda S2000 or Mini Cooper S for these but the guests wanted them in one of the Supercars. I was working in the Lambourghini Diablo and guess which car they chose to have their pax laps in ... yep, the Lambo. It was a bit of a barge in all honesty but amazing power and a sound that made your teeth chatter. A great day and I really felt guilty putting my invoice in.

There haven't been many others on that scale and thats in over 16 years but every now and again something really cool comes up.

I have to say though it is not a job for the faint hearted and calls on a very wide skill set and experience level. For a great deal of the time we are hurtling around a circuit being driven in a seriously quick car by someone you've only just met 30 seconds ago and all you have to keep him under control is your voice. Wet Track, Dodge Viper, 8Litre V10, 500bhp, No traction control and about 30-40 customers for the day. It's unerving to say the least. I did this dozens of time but did get bitten by one guy who thought that perhaps I was being a bit too cautious when I was saying "gently squeeze the power" out of the botton hairpin at Prestwold. From our position a few seconds later, backward halfway up a tree in the forest alongside the track he perhaps felt I was right after all. No-one hurt thankfully and incidents like this, to me at least, have been very rare.

M.

[Maxx]

A couple of pics of the Formula Rockingham cars at Donington last year (click for larger pic) :-

[duncan]

you let novices out in the 500bhp vipers ?

you must get through tons of valium

[Maxx]

you let novices out in the 500bhp vipers ?

you must get through tons of valium

Duncan,

Yes, we certainly DID, I'm not sure any schools are offering Vipers these days but thats probably more to do with the upkeep. They were great in the dry, very few people would even get close to the grip levels but in the wet they were a nightmare. On the Supercar days we ran at Prestwold/Mallory, guests would drive 6 supercars, generally :- Ferrari 360/Lambo Diablo/Dodge Viper/Nobel M12/AMG Merc/Porsche Turbo, sometimes you'd have cars like Lotus Exige instead of one of those but it was a hell of a lineup.

I'm pretty sure they still run them (don't work for them anymore) but you'll get Lambo Gallardo or Murcielago now and 430 or 550 Ferrari, think the Nobles gone as well but not sure what they are using in place of that.

Drivers Dream Days seem to have perhaps the biggest slice of the supercar market these days, they have all the above plus hot scoobies, Cossie Turbo powered Caterhams, TVRs and such. They run good days, I did a lot forn them last year and probably do a few for them this year. They mostly run out of Bruntingthorpe (Leics).

M.