The day was planned back in March when Richard, the owner of Brisky Racing put the idea out there for an end of year bash at a circuit somewhere in Southern England, knowing Richard as a person who doesn’t do things in half’s, the day did not disappoint.
A huge amount of prep was done leading up to the day, particularly to get the Honda there, as it was something Jay was keen to do. Also on my part, to try and get some reliability and keep the Viento in one piece, then rock up and have half a chance for some track time.
The weekend was spent sorting out and second guessing what spares may be needed to keep us track side, then all loaded Sunday, ready for the off. The off being 0430 departure from Snodhurst going direct to Snetterton.
Made good time with arrival just before 0700, grabbed a garage, then off loaded. First things first, got a brew going, well done Jay for bringing the brewing kit. Registration at 0730, then some breakie and briefing. God knows where the time went.
TBH I was quite apprehensive about the day, having very limited track experience and knowing that there were some quick cars out there. I was more concerned about the track being busy, getting in the way, not spotting an approaching car or generally being a nuisance on track. The sighting laps helped somewhat, especially as I was directly behind the safety car and could get half an idea on lines etc.
I went out soon after the sighting laps had been completed and need not have worried, loads of room, track felt rather empty most of the time with plenty of opportunities to let faster cars through. Track etiquette was also top drawer, couldn’t have asked for anything better.
The car went well, and speeds increased during the morning, suspension is rock solid so very little feedback from the car so cornering was a bit of a lottery so stayed cautious most of the time. A couple of minor issues, the brakes smelt extremely hot, Chris checked them with a temperature probe. The rears were cooking and the fronts were cold. Had a play with the bias and a couple of short blasts and after a recheck all was so much better.
Oil pressure dropped right off just before lunch, noticed it when returning to the garage and killed the engine, checked levels, a bit of a top up and cool down and all was good. Kept an eye on it the rest of the day.
In other news, just did a couple of stints in the afternoon, had a wander with the camera and said hello to a few people I knew. Bumped into Richard at the other end of the pit lane, he kindly arranged for James to passenger in their 2016 ex BTCC Touring Car. Off he went, they managed to blow the doors off Ricer Jay, pull silly G’s under braking at the end of Bentley Straight, and corner at speeds that seemed to be not physically possible.
Overall a brilliant day and one of the best days out I’ve had in a long while, very much worth the effort and made even better with the Snodhurst crew, thanks again guys.
One image says it all about the day to me and that's Jay again, showing me the size of his wee willy winky, at 100mph past the pits.
