RAF Cottesmore Javelin track day 30/04 - anyone going?

[giger]

GuestGTR's thread has prompted me to post about this one - I'm considering giving my car an outing after the RAF Marham event was cancelled at this looks tempting. It's a new venue so little information is available, though the guys at Javelin assure me that the circuit will have a bit of everything.

The format will be OPL and there will be a number of facilities on site.

Link to the event:
http://www.javelintrackdays.co.uk/trackday/index.p...

Is anyone else thinking of going?

[el_ringo]

Looks good but a lot more than Marham

[giger]

Everything is more than Marham LOL

[Wicker Man]

This looks like an ideal opportunty to try out my new trackday toy

Just need to remove the cup holders and refresh brake fluid first (and complete registration with Javelin - where's my confirmation email? ).

[Spottedlaurel]

The registration process with Javelin didn’t work for me. In the end I did it by telephone, then sorted my additional drivers on the day.

[MG Mark]

giger said:

Everything is more than Marham LOL

Sorry, but a small bite on the implied criticism.....

1) Marham is a current operational airfield; any track layout and use of the surfaces has to recognise that.
2) Marham's entry fee is around a half of the commercial norm.
3) All of the Marham track days are run by volunteers, most of whom work full time in the RAF, particularly at Marham, who give up their spare time to help put on the events to raise funds for charity.
4) Aside from covering the costs required for lands licences and insurance, all of the pennies from entrance fees from Marham track days go directly to RAF and local charities (this amounts to 95%+ of the income from entry fees), rather than covering the organiser's overheads and required profit margin.
5) Lots of people sort of like that combination, which is probably why so many people are disappointed by the cancellation of April's event, but they also understand why that has happened.

So, please don't imply such criticism of the Marham events in a one-liner. Have fun elsewhere as well, but when the operational tempo does allow Marham the time to put on the next one, please recognise what it is there for and support it......

MG Mark

[Wicker Man]

giger said:

Everything is more than Marham LOL

I didn't read that as criticism.

Just that Marham is the cheapest track day around!

[rtv]

MG Mark. Thanks for going to bat for us mate, but i am sure giger meant it in jest! Hosting the events at Marham are the highlight of the year for us and we were as disappointed as you when our hand was forced and we had to postpone April's event.

The event at RAF Cottesmore is nothing to do with the RAF at all. An external agency is renting the airfield for the weekend.

We will return later in the summer, and we will still be better value for money than anywhere else!

[giger]

I've been going to Marham for 5 years and love it. I posted about this event as the track may be similar to Marham and it is also within a reasonable distance to Marham so thought people might be interested in attending due to the cancellation of Marham for operational reasons that everyone understands. Someone posted stating that Cottesmore was more expensive, so I replied with a smiley with no hint of critisism of Marham.

Someone get out of the wrong side of bed?!

Edited by giger on Tuesday 19th April 13:55

[Wicker Man]

I've registered by phone and am now confirmed.

The attendee list currently looks like this:

Stephen Holden BMW M5
Steven Morrison Vauxhall Monaro
Graeme Morrison Westfield
Earl Cartwright Westfield
John Payne, Nic Pope, Kev BeavisRenault Megane Inter
Ben Jessop Peugeot 205 Gti
Keith Robbins VW Golf Mk2
David Sage MG Montego
Paul Davies Mercedes 190e
Garry Jackson, Terry Jackson & Alex Jackson Peugeot 306 GTi6
Neil Turnbull & Mark Turnbull Audi R8
Tom Packard Porsche Boxster
Andy Stallon Mazda MX5
Craig Seeley & Neil Reading Honda CRX
David Mee & Damon Eastwood Westfield Sports SE
Simon Mould Peugeot 306 GTi6
Steve Medlen MG ZS 180
Steve Baker BMW 318
Leigh Murray Caterham

Any more from here? Giger, how about you?

[giger]

My name will hopefully be on that list very soon

When I first looked there were 6 attendees, now there are more and hopefully a few from here going i'll put my name down as i'll probably be attending solo.

I've registered with them (got my e-mail OK), just pondering whether to book an instruction session or not. Anyone have any experience with their instructors - worth while?

Edited by giger on Tuesday 19th April 16:13

[Wicker Man]

giger said:

Anyone have any experience with their instructors - worth while?

In the past, I've found this to be money very well spent!

I intend to take advantage of this offering for both of us.

(With an instructor saying "Faster, Faster, Faster..." maybe she'll listen!

[giger]

Sounds good, should have this booked in the next day or so. Instruction sounds like a bargain for the price all things considered.

I wonder if the problem with the registration e-mails is because of the difficulty of the puzzle

[robg2]

el_ringo said:

Looks good but a lot more than Marham

Mark - by "more", he means "more expensive" .

[giger]

Booked with instruction

Look forward to meeting some of you there - I'll be in a blue Octavia VRS

[giger]

This was a superb day, i'll definitely be going again

Nice to meet you Steve, meant to see how you were getting on in the afternoon but with the open pit format it didn't quite work out, i'm sure you enjoyed it just as much though.

A few decent pics on the Javelin gallery, well worth checking out.

Maybe see you again at another event

[Wicker Man]

We had a very enjoyable day. Sue was quite nervous as this was her first trackday, but hopefully she'll be more confident (and faster!) next time.

Official pictures here: Cottesmore Trackday 30/04 Not bad since the photographer didn't turn up!

The guy in the R8 was beaming after his session with the instructor. Giger, what did you think?

[giger]

Tuition was spot on, problem is 20mins was enough to get you thinking but difficult to put it all in to practise in such a short time. The laps that I did with the instructor in the car were definitely faster and more fluid, and i've gone away with some knowledge that i'll hopefully build on next time. An hour or two with him would have been superb though.

[MissChiefJustice]

The instructor didn't tell me to go 'faster faster' but I do hope I didn't get anyones way for too long. This was my first track day in the drivers side of the car and I really enjoyed it.I gained in confidence as the day went on and the time spent with the instructor was worth it.

[giger]

Glad you enjoyed it

Same here with the instructor, more about braking and turning in for me. I'll be booking more tuition next time.