Brands hatch today 9th may
Discussion
Hey
Were any other PHers there today?
Was sharing a grey mx5 with the (novice) missus, had a great day. One painful spin off paddock into the gravel though... ...just overcooked the entry.
Got to say, the marshalls were excellent - its not often I've had to be recovered and they were awesome throughout. Didn't even make me feel like too much of a tw*t for stacking it and redlighting the session...
(also sorry all)
Had some great chasing with next door (garage 32) in the lotus. The classic mini was awesome, ditto the classic lotus. And whoever was in the corsa was quick!
If anyone got any video/photos of my spin i'd love to see them. Will post my photos later when home.
Great day.
Were any other PHers there today?
Was sharing a grey mx5 with the (novice) missus, had a great day. One painful spin off paddock into the gravel though... ...just overcooked the entry.
Got to say, the marshalls were excellent - its not often I've had to be recovered and they were awesome throughout. Didn't even make me feel like too much of a tw*t for stacking it and redlighting the session...

Had some great chasing with next door (garage 32) in the lotus. The classic mini was awesome, ditto the classic lotus. And whoever was in the corsa was quick!
If anyone got any video/photos of my spin i'd love to see them. Will post my photos later when home.
Great day.

Edited by shivars on Wednesday 9th May 20:07
shivars said:
hehe sorry. I think I got a bit overexcited that I might be able to actually overtake you... ...cue the red mist... ...and only afterwards realised you were obviously just on an out lap. Doh :/
Nice pic - your Evo looked spectacular from the paddock going round Clearways!
Hah, no worries. I don't mind being a 'trophy overtake'. Nice pic - your Evo looked spectacular from the paddock going round Clearways!
Clearways and Druids actually -- I just couldn't seem to hook up during the whole day, but this was only my third TD in the Evo. Nice to know it looks good doing what it was built for though.


I was the one in the Rothmans liveried Caterham. I only spun once towards the end of the day at paddock and managed to keep it put of the gravel, so I will take that!
It was a good day, not too many red flags and no one dumped any oil. We were late setting off back and the evening session had a reasonable oil stoppage.
Lemoncurd said:

I was the one in the Rothmans liveried Caterham. I only spun once towards the end of the day at paddock and managed to keep it put of the gravel, so I will take that!
It was a good day, not too many red flags and no one dumped any oil. We were late setting off back and the evening session had a reasonable oil stoppage.

It was a great day in terms of lack of stoppages, you’re right. Only a couple of reds that were over very quickly. I did about 120 track miles, which looking back is fairly decent given I didn’t start until about 10am.
I was there in a Clio Trophy in the evening.
It was my girlfriend's first ever track day, and I bought the car a week ago for her. Unfortunately, I found the Sachs dampers were leaking a few days before and didn't have time to fix, so we just ran the car with its issues. We did most of the evening before the knocking got too bad - it's now out for repairs.
Driving standards were generally OK. The indy circuit is a bit busy for a slower car; we had a couple of cars overtake us on the RHS with impatience (having spent a lot of time letting people past, I insisted my girlfriend enjoyed at least a couple of clear laps).
I'll be honest and say my take-away from the trackday (not done one in years) is there is a lot of bravado, and a lot of wannabe-race cars out there. Begs the question why more people don't just get out there and race, or at least get their race license so they can do test days where they are free to overtake how they please and time themselves. Not knocking people; it's just I started to become the same and did take that step to move on.
It was my girlfriend's first ever track day, and I bought the car a week ago for her. Unfortunately, I found the Sachs dampers were leaking a few days before and didn't have time to fix, so we just ran the car with its issues. We did most of the evening before the knocking got too bad - it's now out for repairs.
Driving standards were generally OK. The indy circuit is a bit busy for a slower car; we had a couple of cars overtake us on the RHS with impatience (having spent a lot of time letting people past, I insisted my girlfriend enjoyed at least a couple of clear laps).
I'll be honest and say my take-away from the trackday (not done one in years) is there is a lot of bravado, and a lot of wannabe-race cars out there. Begs the question why more people don't just get out there and race, or at least get their race license so they can do test days where they are free to overtake how they please and time themselves. Not knocking people; it's just I started to become the same and did take that step to move on.
hehe on that last question i agree. I did exactly that (did the ARDS, went racing) 10 years or so ago. I remember my first test day... ...it was like growing up and going to big school. no more being treated like a kid; serious driving and serious rules (overtaking both sides in corners, etc).
I don't have the time nor money any more for that - hence the stock MX5 and the occasional track day.
It does always seem though there are a fair few race cars at each day, I always wonder why they don't go to test days instead; the driving is much freer and much less frustrating from a traffic perspective. Track days are cheaper I suppose, and you can take a passenger/friend/wife/etc.
I don't have the time nor money any more for that - hence the stock MX5 and the occasional track day.
It does always seem though there are a fair few race cars at each day, I always wonder why they don't go to test days instead; the driving is much freer and much less frustrating from a traffic perspective. Track days are cheaper I suppose, and you can take a passenger/friend/wife/etc.
adam. said:
Are you the chap that ‘came to say hello’ to me in my white Evo? 
Yep, that's the one! 

With regard to testing, as one of the race cars I would say both types of day have a place. Yes, a test day is the best place for fine tuning lap times and is generally more fun, particularly if you have a few of you in the same class. On the other hand test days usually run in sessions and the number of available days at a track is pretty limited so an open pitlane trackday or two can useful in initially learning a circuit and trying out some different set-ups.
hondansx said:
I'll be honest and say my take-away from the trackday (not done one in years) is there is a lot of bravado, and a lot of wannabe-race cars out there. Begs the question why more people don't just get out there and race, or at least get their race license so they can do test days where they are free to overtake how they please and time themselves. Not knocking people; it's just I started to become the same and did take that step to move on.
That's interesting about the evening session. I found the standards during the day fairly affable, if you can describe them that way. I don't mind sharing with racers that are there for a bit of cheap testing, I find them a rewarding challenge to stick with in a road car. 
Lemoncurd said:
Yep, that's the one! 
With regard to testing, as one of the race cars I would say both types of day have a place. Yes, a test day is the best place for fine tuning lap times and is generally more fun, particularly if you have a few of you in the same class. On the other hand test days usually run in sessions and the number of available days at a track is pretty limited so an open pitlane trackday or two can useful in initially learning a circuit and trying out some different set-ups.
You were going well in the Caterfield Westerham! I didn't find anyone was trying too hard, well except the OP 
With regard to testing, as one of the race cars I would say both types of day have a place. Yes, a test day is the best place for fine tuning lap times and is generally more fun, particularly if you have a few of you in the same class. On the other hand test days usually run in sessions and the number of available days at a track is pretty limited so an open pitlane trackday or two can useful in initially learning a circuit and trying out some different set-ups.

Gassing Station | Track Days | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff