Just Booked for a day with Don Palmer for his creative car control course at bruntingthorpe

Has anyone been on this, and can you offer any advice, ie do i need to get some part worn tyres so not to wreck my new S02's or any other special precautions for the car like brakes, how hard on the car is it etc.......

I have been on the wetter the better which was excellent.

Any feed back would be greatly apperciated

 

Not been on this course, but Don took us to Bruntingthorpe when WTB was cancelled early in the year. The surface is insanely hard on tyres, so if possible don't wear your road set, if you are going to be using your current road tyres crank the pressure right up to minimise the amount of wear.

Don't know what the format is at all, but if you do a lap of the place you can see more than 140mph on the 2 straights (std UK Turbo) which is hard on brakes, mine were well cooked, and it took a month of road driving before the pads recovered and I only did 12 laps of the place.

I'm sure it'll be enjoyable anyway

 

Can only echo what Robertio said ... had a little play there earlier this year, and the SO2's did not take it kindly ...

I would advice to put on your original tyres (or original alloys).

 

Did the course with Don about 6wks ago at Bruntingthorpe in my MY01. I pumped up the SO2's to about 40psi, it was drizzling and they were trashed.

Don sets out a short course of cones which you try to go around as fast as poss. You get faster as you work on steering feel, effect of the throttle and then the brakes. The car spends most of the time scrubbing on the limit, so expect the edges to be rounded off and fried and the treads to have a strange triangular profile. You'll also spin it a few times too.

I've now rotated the tyres to eek out a little more life (although they need replacing)and am driving more carefully esp in the wet. Having only had the car a few mths I can't afford the £600 yet to replace them. Given the tyre wear a very expensive session. Has it made me a better driver? - the lap times improved considerably on the day but on the road, I'm now more cautious - partly cos of my dodgy tyres and partly cos you realise how quick the car will spin when driving on the limit and you get it a bit wrong.

It's going to take alot of practice on a track to make Don's (good)teaching pay dividends on the road.

Hope that helps. its a good day, mentally tiring and he'll no doubt take you round Bruntingthorpe sideways in his M5, which is fun. Don told me he doesn't bother about expensive tyres and when you see how he can handle a car, as well as what it must be doing to the tyres - you can see why.

 

Sorry just re-read your post. Brakes will be fine, get crap tyres if you can, if not pump up your Bridgestones and start saving!!!!