Arrive and Drive trackday Dec 16th~ A outsiders review
Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 2:44 pm
I thought I'd add a mini review before the other guys get back and add their own comments. Rather than having multiple threads, please add your own thought to this one :thumb:
I knew I couldn't attend in a driving capacity but was delighted to come along and see how the 'boys' got on. A nice bright morning but certainly wetter under foot than last Sunday, a much smaller attendance than promised gathered in the paddock. I arrived to people scurrying around 'have you got duck tape?', 'have you got a footpump?' etc etc. It did strike me that the level of preperation was lower than that of a normal trackday but maybe that's harsh?
Another surprise was the amount of spaces available. Thank God BigPower were in attendance! A perfect opportunity for people to get out onto a track and drive at their own pace, building confidence as they went. Traction seemed to be a bit of an issue as the track was drying out slowly and tyres had little chance of warming up. Even the Imprezas were struggling to get sufficient grip out of the slower bends, Dunkinator was easily breaking traction, even with his silky smooth driving technique (I thought you would like that mate
. Talking of silky smooth Dan and Trev had brought along their joint track weapon, the mark 3 Supra. Carrying a bit of a reputation from the Honington day, I'm sure Trev was keen to impress with his car. Dan took the helm in their first session and promptly spun three or four times, obviously due to the conditions. (Nothing to do with having a right foot that Rob Andrew would be proud of) In fairness to Dan, he wasn't the lone offender, oh no. The award for the most ridiculous spin of the day goes to Ian with his pristine R33. I had the pleaure of being in the control tower with the clerk of the course and the circuit manager when Ian completely lost control of the car and span at 'around 15mph' according to the Marshall standing 20 feet away. The Marshall continued to critique Ian's driving stating that 'he had never seen anyone spin at such a low speed' and 'he must have done that deliberately'. A black flag was issued and Ian got a telling off from another Marshall. Oops. The conditions looked absolutely treacherous though and I would only have happily tackled the track in my Sierra. The temptation to pile on the speed around Coram may have been greater than the available traction and that would definitely have ended in tears. Anyone who had the bottle to push hard through the bends today deserved points for trying.
More casualities included Nick from Trojan Sport whose car developed a knock from the bottom end and Beanpotter who had a coming together with a tyre wall at the Esses just after the back straight. The prudence of his decision in taking trackday cover was the most comforting thing I guess. (Best of luck mate, at least it wasn't on the road, it could have been so much worse) So with cars spinning left, right and centre and the odd mechanical malady, it was wonderful to see Michael and Jo enjoying their STi. The car looked and sounded really strong and had no trouble keeping up with anything on the track. The way the car pulled was a fine testament to the patience, money and effort these guys have put into performance car ownership :notworthy:
Pablo and Bart made the trip from the Midlands as promised. Lots of more local people had cried off so for these guys to make the two and a half hour drive to keep their word and meet a few faces was a superb effort. Well done guys.
I'm sure that there will be a few photos and comments from the drivers later on. I hope no one minds my input on today and the way I saw it. It is rare for me to attend a track day without taking part and it seemed far more stressful as a spectator I must admit. I hope that everyone enjoyed themselves as best as possible and look forward to reading the reports later on.
I knew I couldn't attend in a driving capacity but was delighted to come along and see how the 'boys' got on. A nice bright morning but certainly wetter under foot than last Sunday, a much smaller attendance than promised gathered in the paddock. I arrived to people scurrying around 'have you got duck tape?', 'have you got a footpump?' etc etc. It did strike me that the level of preperation was lower than that of a normal trackday but maybe that's harsh?
Another surprise was the amount of spaces available. Thank God BigPower were in attendance! A perfect opportunity for people to get out onto a track and drive at their own pace, building confidence as they went. Traction seemed to be a bit of an issue as the track was drying out slowly and tyres had little chance of warming up. Even the Imprezas were struggling to get sufficient grip out of the slower bends, Dunkinator was easily breaking traction, even with his silky smooth driving technique (I thought you would like that mate
. Talking of silky smooth Dan and Trev had brought along their joint track weapon, the mark 3 Supra. Carrying a bit of a reputation from the Honington day, I'm sure Trev was keen to impress with his car. Dan took the helm in their first session and promptly spun three or four times, obviously due to the conditions. (Nothing to do with having a right foot that Rob Andrew would be proud of) In fairness to Dan, he wasn't the lone offender, oh no. The award for the most ridiculous spin of the day goes to Ian with his pristine R33. I had the pleaure of being in the control tower with the clerk of the course and the circuit manager when Ian completely lost control of the car and span at 'around 15mph' according to the Marshall standing 20 feet away. The Marshall continued to critique Ian's driving stating that 'he had never seen anyone spin at such a low speed' and 'he must have done that deliberately'. A black flag was issued and Ian got a telling off from another Marshall. Oops. The conditions looked absolutely treacherous though and I would only have happily tackled the track in my Sierra. The temptation to pile on the speed around Coram may have been greater than the available traction and that would definitely have ended in tears. Anyone who had the bottle to push hard through the bends today deserved points for trying.More casualities included Nick from Trojan Sport whose car developed a knock from the bottom end and Beanpotter who had a coming together with a tyre wall at the Esses just after the back straight. The prudence of his decision in taking trackday cover was the most comforting thing I guess. (Best of luck mate, at least it wasn't on the road, it could have been so much worse) So with cars spinning left, right and centre and the odd mechanical malady, it was wonderful to see Michael and Jo enjoying their STi. The car looked and sounded really strong and had no trouble keeping up with anything on the track. The way the car pulled was a fine testament to the patience, money and effort these guys have put into performance car ownership :notworthy:
Pablo and Bart made the trip from the Midlands as promised. Lots of more local people had cried off so for these guys to make the two and a half hour drive to keep their word and meet a few faces was a superb effort. Well done guys.
I'm sure that there will be a few photos and comments from the drivers later on. I hope no one minds my input on today and the way I saw it. It is rare for me to attend a track day without taking part and it seemed far more stressful as a spectator I must admit. I hope that everyone enjoyed themselves as best as possible and look forward to reading the reports later on.
I enjoyed this, and was getting used to a degree of understeer into the apex then feeds power on to get the back stepping out. This was smoother in 3rd gear for me on the corner on the main straight where a little fun could be very safely had 
