What a great day today at MIRA.

2 Scooby's there an RB5, and a UK (really nice one!) belonging to a chap from this BBS (as usual, my memory has failed me as to his name... sorry mate) really sound bloke!

Had a blast in an E Type Jag (first time for me) a Porka 944, Don's fabulous M5 (Boris!) and the really nice UK scoob (mentioned above).

I have to say, driving the Scoob did tug at the heart strings a bit. It has only been a couple of weeks but it brought back great sensations.

The first outing for the Esprit began with curious nerves. I was dreading it being a complete dog in comparison to the Scooby. But I was far from dissapointed. It is a completely different ball game to the Impreza, and you can't throw it through the circuit with the same carefree abandon you feel obliged to adopt in the Scoob. You have to be on top of it all the time.

But what a blast. I spun it on the concentric circles about 4 times!!!!! (much to Don & Colin's pleasure!!) and overcooked it once on the hairpin at the far end of the circuit (I think I was showing off to the charming lady in the passenger seat at the time!!).

Having said that, it was nice to get to know the car properly. It will willingly sit sideways all the way round the 270degree open right hander (the last turn of the circuit) which is a real thrill.

E Type:-
Top car... Huge wood steering wheel! Tail happy like you wouldn't beleive!! bags of torque, no grip, no lateral support (seats), an absolute hoot!

944:-
Old, slow, very well balanced, sounded amazing.

Boris (M5):-
Old, very comfy (recaro type seats), stunning torque, dreamy chasis, wollowy suspension, completely confidence inspiring, totally comandable, bloody quick, one of the most fun cars I have ever driven.

Top day

c-ya

Simon

 

simon i give it 6 months before the scoodies back on the drive :-)

glad your enjoying the lotus

later

daz

 

Is it mega money to take your car to this MIRA place ??? I think once my car is sorted out i should not mind having a look. Where is it? Is it always wet ? Will i learn alot (knowing me NO) about wet driving? They maybe stupid questions , but i,m new to this.

Thanks

Rog

 

rog do a search for don palmer, you will see a full write up from me on the day.

Its awesome, go do it.

 

Really sound bloke eh? It can't be me, surely. Still, I guess it takes one to know one! Yup, yours truly was the owner of the "really nice" UK Scoob - a totally standard UK 4door DBM MY00, the only mod is Speedline 7 17" wheels and tyre pressures at 32psi all round.

Where to start? Johnfelstead's post "Don Palmer Wet Handling Day" covers much of the day's events, so I'll just mention the bits that were special to me.

I was quite surprised by the range of cars, from a Peugeot 205 1.6 GTi and a Ford Fiesta XR2i to a Jaguar E-Type. I thought these cars were normally kept wrapped in cotton wool and stored in heated garages! I must admit, I was also quite pleased to see Simon pull up as I'd wanted to meet him and to see his new purchase (always wanted an Esprit as a kid!).

A brief explanation of the day was followed by a trip around the circuit with Colin, one of the instructors. Sitting in the back of a BMW 3 series while we powerslid around the concentric circles, under complete control was a fantastic experience, I could hardly stop giggling as Colin gently drove the car virtually sideways while talking to us the whole time.

After the demonstration, it was time to jump into our cars and head off to the circuit. Quite quickly, it became apparent that the Scoob had more grip than the other cars, a lot more in fact. The 205 swiftly moved over to let me by and then I had a clear track for a bit. The Scoob was extremely well behaved, just wagging its tail slightly when provoked, otherwise, it was as rock solid as everyone says they are. In fact, my belief in the car's grip would prove to be a sticking point through the day.

Eventually, I caught the Jag up and once again, the grip of the Scooby was obvious. The E-Type's driver was really wrestling the car around the circuit, while I was just driving at 6/10ths to keep up. Sadly, he wouldn't let me pass, so I chose discretion and pulled off to wait my turn on the "Magic Roundabout".

After a brief wait, Colin joined me and guided me onto the circles. He guided me through the effect of too much speed on the feel of the steering wheel and the eery sensation of reducing lock to gain more grip. Reducing the lock to steer a tighter line is a very odd thing to do!! Then it was time to make the back end step out. I believed (like so many) that four-wheel drive would make it difficult to do and it was, but only because I allowed it to be.

Initially, my attempts to powerslide were failures, the car would just four-wheel drift off the circles, or just pick up its fronts and run straight on. Nothing I could do would generate a decent slide. So I then enlisted Simon's help, who predictably powerslid my car the whole way 'round the circle!! OK, so I'm doing something wrong, but what?

Simon showed me a better way to get the car to begin a slide (drop the clutch in 2nd) and now I made my first steps, I could get the tail out, but the slide was short lived. Numerous attempts resulted in only a 1/3 of a circle slide. Still frustrated, I tried some more (either side of a great lunch and time on the circuit), but without as much success as I had hoped.

In the end, Don & Simon went out with me, and Don spent much more time questioning my steering and getting me to focus on what the wheels were doing. I can still hear his cries of "Gas! Gas! Now steer! More Gas! Lots of Gas!" . Still, I couldn't quite get it. The Scooby would slide at ridiculous angles (and still come back without spinning!) but not consistently and by now, I was getting really annoyed with myself, so I took another break and stood in the dry area thinking. And slowly, the pieces of information slotted into place:

Why was the car sliding off the circuit? Because I was getting up too much speed, there was no grip left.
Why was there too much speed? Because I was starting too quickly and then trying to accelerate all the time, instead of balancing the car.
What was I doing with the front wheels? I wasn't taking enough "command" of the car, I was reacting to & riding the slide, rather than commanding it to happen.

There was also the realisation that I didn't need to keep correcting the slide (a problem early in the day) but to go with it and enjoy it.

So, armed with this new information, I got back on the Roundabout for one last go. I started on the ultra-slippy basalt tiles, so that the speeds were much lower and very soon, I was able to make the tail slide out under my control and then I found that I could point the car where I wanted it to go with a mixture of throttle & steering, mindful all the time not to pick up too much speed.

Next, onto the slightly more grippy surface. Four-wheel drive is difficult to slide? Pah! A little left lock, a tap of the throttle in 2nd and 'round comes the tail. A bit of correction and before I knew it, half a lap, then a whole lap and then 1 1/2 laps of powersliding bliss. I'd finally done it!! So I did it again. And again. And again!! Now it was easy, I was in control. *I* was starting the slide, *I* was controlling the slide and *I* was really happy!!

So a big thankyou to Don & Colin for setting up and running such an excellent course and for their patience while I skidded and drifted my way 'round the track. Another big thankyou to Simon for his time (I dragged him away from more than one conversation!) and also a big thankyou to the other drivers for their generous comments after I was the only one who could powerslide the whole circle. :P

Proud? Yep, would never have believed that I could learn so much in one day.

Money well spent? Yep! This course is a steal!

Am I better driver? Yep again!

Regrets? Never got that ride in the Esprit, always seemed to be a young lady in the passenger seat!

Will I go again? Absolutely!

 

Hi David

Thanks for the reminder!!

You're more than welcome, and I'm thrilled you managed such a great job of the circles. To do what you did on there take considerable skill, but not only that. You orced yourself to let go of the beleifs about the car and it's generally regarded unbrakable characteristics. Almost anything will slide round them circles, I have found nothing so far which I couldn't get at least one lap out of.

Well Done.

Sorry, forgot all about giving you a blast in the Esprit. Saying that, I don't think I could have dragged you away from your sideways scooby towards the end of the day. When you go again, let me know and I'll be there.

Even though I don't own one anymore, it gives me a lovely warm sensation when a scooby driver really does the business at MIRA

c-ya

Simon