So, who here is coming along?

I got my call today from Colin Goodwin to say someone had dropped out, and would I like the place...hmm let me think on it...oh if I must

Rannoch, you coming along?

Anyone else?

 

Hurray - another Scoob.

I'll be there - staying over tonight.

Will mail you details.

Cheers,

David

 

Well that was a top day

Mostly

Thank you Rannoch for letting us know there were places left, if you hadn’t I would’ve assumed like you did initially that the day would be booked out!

Only 3 real scoobs there Mine - MY98 UKish (with Paul Wilson in the passenger seat), Rannoch’s Sti V and some chap from Bromley way in a silver MY97 UK with black spoilers and a scoop (sorry didn’t get your name) plus Autocar’s ‘Bugzila’ MY01 or BEM (Bug Eyed Monster) as Paul christened it

Other kit was pretty diverse from what I can remember there were:

2 EVO VI’s being driven slowly, lapped them both at least twice a session!
A few Ferraris; 355, 360 and 308 oddity (looked like a race spec shell)
Porkers; Boxter S, all types of 911…some driven by nutters, one a race car!
2 Capris (damn quick they were too, but kept spinning off LOL)
Rover 220 Turbo Coupe (modded and quick, in a straight line)
Rover 600 Ti as above…
Caterhams…including a blackbird engined one
3 XJR’s one slow, one beautifully driven, and one oblivious to other traffic
A modded XKR…didn’t see much of that it came on track a couple of times, wasn’t that special
Holden HSV…did it even go out?
Venturi Atlantique Race car, which never seemed to be running that well
Various lotus Elises (standard, 340R and a Sport 160)
1 smoky Esprit S3 Turbo, with an interesting Pit Entry Technique…backwards from Goddards
1 ultra rare Sunbeam Tiger 2, one of only 7 genuine RHD cars, with effectively a Ford GT40 engine de-tuned to 325 brake, virtually no brakes, 6" wide x 14" diameter wheels, and 60’s suspension one brave man!
A ‘64/65 Corvette Stingray convertible, my favourite car to watch all day, sideways at anything over 40mph!
A Fantic (I think it was, single seater, bike engined mini Le-mans Prototype racer)
BMW 735i or ‘lurch’ as I christened it
BMW M3
BMW M coupe off roader…it got a tad muddy…
Merc AMG C43, Mr. Tail happy
Plus various Minardis…sorry, Almera Gti (hello it’s me again, do you mind if I lap you for the third time…thank you), Dax Rush (I’m sure he was behind me coming into that bend, where could he have gone oh, there in the kitty litter), Sierra XR4x4 (he’s going off again, you watch…there what did I say) Fiat Barcetta (pretty little thing) and a Clio 16V


Autocar need to work on their organisational skills if they’re planning any more trackdays, very few people realised they needed to be there before 9am, and some didn’t know that Crash Helmets where required! Some of the Journo’s were fine, others were complete t*ss*rs on the track , other peoples car’s and all that… I’ll let David explain…

Because of Rob Mac’s session with me on the 5th November day (Cheers Rob, nice to see you there, albeit briefly!), I was determined to make a better hash of it this time, and with no sessions I thought I was on to a winner…unfortunately my decision to run slicks right from the 9am start was a little…er…unwise…

Take one very damp circuit on a cold morning with spinning novices and get a track which is a little… slippy

After 20 minutes of my first session I thought that I could see a dry line (well I didn’t need wipers to see where I was going anymore...) and that my slicks would be warm enough…error…

Coming down into Craner I tried to take the left hand down hill kink, at Stef Straight , flat, at 85 mph, hadn’t seen the mud…I don’t know if I was off line, or if I might have lifted, but what came next happened fast…

The back of the car slid to the right as the car initially oversteered, then it understeered, full on drift action, I mangaged to steer into it, but then as the car got grip and wanted to go straight on towards the grass, kitty litter and armco, it bit back, and we were going the other way towards the infiled! Somehow I managed to unwind the lock and catch the fish tale, I was amazed that I’d controlled it as much as I did, and decided that it might be wise to pit and let the others dry the track out for me…

Ohh yes and this all happened right in front of Autocar’s Photographer standing at the bottom of Craner, I wonder if it’ll get printed…

Still as the day went on I got more and more confident, and ended up doing 5 sessions and a 160 miles on the track!

Only downside is I’ve killed my Brembo front disks (warped to b*gg*ry) and think that I’ve warped the rears too…oops…LOL

Oh, and the MY01, sounds like a hairdrier, is slower down the straights, but it does seem to go round corners better from my view point behind it…although it does seem to go round at a jaunty angle...

[This message has been edited by Tim W (edited 25 November 2000).]

 

Indeed it was almost a Top Day.

Have to give the prize to Ahmed for being fastest Scoob as (I know I am slow) but he caught me really easily.

He thought his car was pretty standard but under the bonnet downpipe, induction kit, AP brakes on the front - very quick - almost certainly around 245-260bhp.

Also, driven in the same style as Stef, wait until you think you are going to die, then jump on the middle pedal, throw the rear in the air and then off around the corners.

Very instinctively driven.

Tim, did a pretty good description of all the cars - my wonder was the the speed of the Corvette, awesome - and the 2.8 Capri, couldn't touch it.

Down to THE troublemaker, Andrew '****el' Frankel.

Coming up into Macleans there was a Caterham of some sort behind me and at the kink before Macleans I indicated and let him past, Yellow Porker in the distance.

I accelerate again and turn into Macleans - RIGHT ON THE APEX, ****el passes me, almost banging the wind mirrors. I knew he was there and I would be happy the let him pass going up the hill.

If I had been pressing on and hadn't seen him we both could well have been in the gravel looking for a blacksmith.

Then, follow him up the back straight, he then goes into Goddards alongside a Ferrari 360 - which he then takes on the INSIDE turning into the corner.

The sad thing is that there were a bunch of journos there who are track experienced who treated it like a subsidised day out for them to play it other peoples metal.

They have lost the perspective that we pay for our cars, pay for them to be there, pay for the fuel and that is all very expensive.

What do they care if they smack it into the barrier?

Anyway, I went ballistic with ****el in front of Mr Cropley - who carefully faded away into the distance. Later the Autocar team said they had told ****el to be on his best behaviour - didn't make an impression then.

So, they need to think hard about how they do this.

It was good that it was open track - but they need to think about how they do it.

Perhaps open track for two hours, then 30-45 minutes of the hacks and groupies taking the paying public out for passenger rides?

R