Ok, dont want to read about my escapade at Donnington then dont read on :!: :!:
Show time started at 12 noon on Saturday with the first proper clean in roughly 8 months - clay bar, polish wax etc forgot to clean underneath the rear window where all the shite accumalates but hey ho.
5 hours later (inc wheel change) and the interior not cleaned, the results where;
Anyway, get up way to early for a sunday to be there for before 9.20 in order to attend a track session, get there for about 8.30ish where it all starts to go wrong, cars not meant to be on a stand and only there for track time inc passengers as a pr thing for GTC - car ends up on the BP stand with a few others and me wishing i didnt change over to the CTR rims;
Anyway, as its a PR thing for GTC, we've got to wear some race wear for them, so i don the GTC sponsored race style shirt and the missus wears a fleece which as it turns out proved valuable.
Knowing Si's racing in TA, we decide to go and find him in the pits and just straight through security without a challenge, Si's obviously surprised to see us as we're not allowed in but gives us some official bands anyway. Thanks for that Si, Helen enjoyed the experience xthumbup and asks if theres anymore pass's going again, she would like some :wink:
Anyway, we wander in and out as we like watching some of the racing, missed Si's final session due to watching the Pole Dancers, looking around and the sessions being delayed due to an earlier gearbox spill. Watched some of the pro's go out and learn that an Evo has a touring car driver behind the wheel :shock: Again, missus enjoyed it more than i did mainly down to the noise and general experience but heres soem photos i took;
DC2 flying;
Someone winning a prize for being a numpty and running low on fuel :wink:
Nice evo, exhaust pokes out the side, lairy paint job, eventually blew an engine/gearbox or something;
In between the TA sessions, you had some public sessions happening;
So with more wandering around waiting for my allocated slot of 5.20 (eventually move it to 5.00 by the swift move of a pen), we see more 'chavs' than ever, more grubby marks on the cars windows, birds i wouldnt touch in a club as models etc etc my time finally comes.
Having spoken to Si about the course (having never driven it) i was filled with, not fear but comprehension about the course, especially as i was using tyres i dont like and are to thin.
However, after a few quick laps i soon learned the circuit and started to enjoy it. Ended up getttign stuck behind an M3 who whilst i could take in the corners and under braking (strictly against the rules and i didnt want to be ejected), i didnt have the power to get past in the straight;
Eventually get passed him on a straight
and he drops off totally, however now im leading the pack and where before i was using him as a guide to braking i was now on my own;
An image that almost everyone saw;
With a clear track in front of me, i started to push abit harder, get more of a gap between those behind me, lead to my downfall - whilst going round the nice fast corner at the end of the start/finish straight and at around the mid point, the backend stepped out and i dont know why though ive got a feeling its due to lifting off :?
I managed to keep it on track but totally lost all momentum i had and with people gaining on me, i had to let them past before pulling back on track :roll: and start all over again :?
Anyway, quickly cuaght up with the back markers and took them before catching up with the Supra
and the damned M3 again.long story short, the M3 slwoed us all down again and i tormented the Supra in the corners. Again could have gone past him there but didnt, he knows this and admitted to it after :lol:
Anyway, with what i thought was a clear track behind me, i look up to see a blue nova in my rear view mirror, pull to the side an he just shoots past, however, i didnt feel too bad at the end though as i find out that its got a 2.0lt turbo'd engine with roughly :shock:
So what did i learn from this track - i need to work on my braking ie knowing when to brake and having more confidence in the brakes, need to work on my power delivery in the corner (though if it was a proper track day id have worked on it then) though i felt happy with my lines which tended to be close to ontop of the curb in the corners. Whether this is correct or not i dont know (anyone...). Only trouble spot i had was the chicane which was down to braking and i took most of the course in 3rd or 4th, was tempted to sneak it into 5th in some locations but would have had to down shift 5 secs later for a corner so didnt bother, again if it was a track day id have worked on this but it was only 20mins long and i didnt have confidence in my tyres (which performed better than i expected).
Despite myself not being happy with my performance, spectators and other drivers commented on how well i handled the car so...
Also my passenger (head PR person for BP) said that even though he enjoyed the experience and at the start he hungry, he ended up clutching the door handle and feeling sick. I thought my drive was quite smooth (excluding the spin) with the engine being kept in 6k+ most of the way
Its a shame i didnt borrow a vid camera and record the session but never mind.
Overall i enjoyed Donnington more than Bedford.
Heres soem more pics;
Proof that the Castrol DC5 goes on track despite being sluggish;
Yella A3 that was very quick and left me behind;
was also over taken by an Evo and Porsche
One fear that i did have was that whilst everyone would be pushing it and whilst being near the front, i had fears that people would out brake themselves and id get punted;
Id leave this Accord behind on the corner and straights though underbraking hed catch up - pre spin/m3 overtake;
When we pulled in at the end, his brakes where smoking :!: :!: :!:
Sorry this went on and i tried to be flowing and grammer correct but gave up near the start
I did take more pics and will be getting more from an official photographer at a later point, which ill post whether you like it or not
Show time started at 12 noon on Saturday with the first proper clean in roughly 8 months - clay bar, polish wax etc forgot to clean underneath the rear window where all the shite accumalates but hey ho.
5 hours later (inc wheel change) and the interior not cleaned, the results where;
Anyway, get up way to early for a sunday to be there for before 9.20 in order to attend a track session, get there for about 8.30ish where it all starts to go wrong, cars not meant to be on a stand and only there for track time inc passengers as a pr thing for GTC - car ends up on the BP stand with a few others and me wishing i didnt change over to the CTR rims;
Anyway, as its a PR thing for GTC, we've got to wear some race wear for them, so i don the GTC sponsored race style shirt and the missus wears a fleece which as it turns out proved valuable.
Knowing Si's racing in TA, we decide to go and find him in the pits and just straight through security without a challenge, Si's obviously surprised to see us as we're not allowed in but gives us some official bands anyway. Thanks for that Si, Helen enjoyed the experience xthumbup and asks if theres anymore pass's going again, she would like some :wink:
Anyway, we wander in and out as we like watching some of the racing, missed Si's final session due to watching the Pole Dancers, looking around and the sessions being delayed due to an earlier gearbox spill. Watched some of the pro's go out and learn that an Evo has a touring car driver behind the wheel :shock: Again, missus enjoyed it more than i did mainly down to the noise and general experience but heres soem photos i took;
DC2 flying;
Someone winning a prize for being a numpty and running low on fuel :wink:
Nice evo, exhaust pokes out the side, lairy paint job, eventually blew an engine/gearbox or something;
In between the TA sessions, you had some public sessions happening;
So with more wandering around waiting for my allocated slot of 5.20 (eventually move it to 5.00 by the swift move of a pen), we see more 'chavs' than ever, more grubby marks on the cars windows, birds i wouldnt touch in a club as models etc etc my time finally comes.
Having spoken to Si about the course (having never driven it) i was filled with, not fear but comprehension about the course, especially as i was using tyres i dont like and are to thin.
However, after a few quick laps i soon learned the circuit and started to enjoy it. Ended up getttign stuck behind an M3 who whilst i could take in the corners and under braking (strictly against the rules and i didnt want to be ejected), i didnt have the power to get past in the straight;
Eventually get passed him on a straight
and he drops off totally, however now im leading the pack and where before i was using him as a guide to braking i was now on my own;
An image that almost everyone saw;
With a clear track in front of me, i started to push abit harder, get more of a gap between those behind me, lead to my downfall - whilst going round the nice fast corner at the end of the start/finish straight and at around the mid point, the backend stepped out and i dont know why though ive got a feeling its due to lifting off :?
I managed to keep it on track but totally lost all momentum i had and with people gaining on me, i had to let them past before pulling back on track :roll: and start all over again :?
Anyway, quickly cuaght up with the back markers and took them before catching up with the Supra
and the damned M3 again.long story short, the M3 slwoed us all down again and i tormented the Supra in the corners. Again could have gone past him there but didnt, he knows this and admitted to it after :lol:
Anyway, with what i thought was a clear track behind me, i look up to see a blue nova in my rear view mirror, pull to the side an he just shoots past, however, i didnt feel too bad at the end though as i find out that its got a 2.0lt turbo'd engine with roughly :shock:
So what did i learn from this track - i need to work on my braking ie knowing when to brake and having more confidence in the brakes, need to work on my power delivery in the corner (though if it was a proper track day id have worked on it then) though i felt happy with my lines which tended to be close to ontop of the curb in the corners. Whether this is correct or not i dont know (anyone...). Only trouble spot i had was the chicane which was down to braking and i took most of the course in 3rd or 4th, was tempted to sneak it into 5th in some locations but would have had to down shift 5 secs later for a corner so didnt bother, again if it was a track day id have worked on this but it was only 20mins long and i didnt have confidence in my tyres (which performed better than i expected).
Despite myself not being happy with my performance, spectators and other drivers commented on how well i handled the car so...
Also my passenger (head PR person for BP) said that even though he enjoyed the experience and at the start he hungry, he ended up clutching the door handle and feeling sick. I thought my drive was quite smooth (excluding the spin) with the engine being kept in 6k+ most of the way
Its a shame i didnt borrow a vid camera and record the session but never mind.
Overall i enjoyed Donnington more than Bedford.
Heres soem more pics;
Proof that the Castrol DC5 goes on track despite being sluggish;
Yella A3 that was very quick and left me behind;
was also over taken by an Evo and Porsche
One fear that i did have was that whilst everyone would be pushing it and whilst being near the front, i had fears that people would out brake themselves and id get punted;
Id leave this Accord behind on the corner and straights though underbraking hed catch up - pre spin/m3 overtake;
When we pulled in at the end, his brakes where smoking :!: :!: :!:
Sorry this went on and i tried to be flowing and grammer correct but gave up near the start
I did take more pics and will be getting more from an official photographer at a later point, which ill post whether you like it or not
