Shhh it didn't happen

[greenwoo]

well it did happen, just have no proof as my phone ran out of battery....

Paul ( Crunchie ) suggested a couple of weeks back that i ought to join him at Silverstone where he had booked in the Caterham for a track day -------and where he'd booked the services of an ex-Caterham racer for tuition. It would have been churlish to say 'No', in fact it would have been bloody stupid to have said 'No'. What's not to like, a chance to drive a circuit that's new to me, in a Caterham - with some solid words of wisdom.

So at silly o'clock the alarm went off and i joined the commuter crowd on the M25, bloody hell - what time do you have to get on that road in the morning to get a clear run? I'd cleared the Tunnel at 6 and by half past had joined the first 'stop start' queue. The M1 was better as i was heading the ' wrong way'....clearly in the right lane though!

Reached Silverstone, located Paul, signed, in, had the briefing and was introduced to Ian Payne - our 'guide' for the day.

With a damp track Ian decided to take out Pauls car for a quick spin - (he didn't manage the spin) and i climbed out wondering how the hell he'd kept it ( generally ) pointing in the right direction. 'Your Turn'....ahhhh/ummm - well off we went with Ian tutoring via the power of sign language. I'm proud to say that i succeeded where he'd failed - as i span on the 4th lap!

After a debrief ( i now know why i span ) Paul jumped in ( more easily than i had ) and set off for some tuition of his own. And thus we did continue all morning with Paul's car doing a great job.

Pause...in the story. Just as a taster some of the other machinery there today; 4 Race Aston Martins, 4 race Ferrari's, 3 Porsche GT Cup, umpteen Radical stylee, 10-12 caterhams, E-Type, D-type, 2 DB6's, Cobra Daytona ( original )......and a load of other frigging quick motors. AWESOME Jay!

After lunch. Ducks n Drakes. Ian jumped into his race 1.6 sigma caterham and led the way, Paul and then my job in turn was to follow in his wheel marks ( figurative as track was now dry) - i'd like to say that i pushed on and made him work to keep ahead, in fact i will say that......but as you can guess i work as a part time Pinocchio stand in. Still it was clear that we were both improving.

Paul got bored watching me drive his car, so he had a go in Ian's car, a standard 140bhp car ( well with a decent set up).....little bugger only came in when it was a/nearly out of fuel b/ he'd managed to sweat off a stone in fluids. Seriously have you ever seen a 5'7' beetroot? It was like a Goth had been left in the sun for 3 days, boy he was red and sweaty.

To top off my tuition Ian thought he should now show me how to do it - '' i havent taken you out in the dry have i' ?
Err no.
My pulse rate has just returned to somewhere close to normal.
I had a masterclass involving laaaaaaaaaaaaate braking, turning in and playing with the balance of the car to get it minimally sideways to get on the power 'rapido'......and i also learnt that a passenger can left foot brake all he wants but that ain't gonna slow the car down. Scary? Have to say that the control shown was bang on and i didnt feel 'at risk', buuuuuut, watching the speedo sit at 120 and then feeling the car squirming at the end of the straight as the speed was scrubbed out with a quick and mighty push on the brakes before turning at warp speed into a massively sharp left hander - well it 'awakens the senses'!

Ian enquired if i'd learnt anything from that little escapade.....'Oh yes said I, i learnt that you're going to need new underwear if you want me to try a bit of that, i'm quite happy to have a go at getting the car pointing to all points on a compass through a corner and then mashing the throttle through the floor before your brain has worked out whether its Tuesday or Sunday - come on your pussseeeey. ( what i really said was i dont think we'd end up getting around the corners if i drove like that and it's Pauls car - but thanks for giving me a migraine).

What a top top day. I drove home wondering how i was going to squirrel enough cash away to do the same with my car, a track day with full on instruction.
Did i learn anything? Hell Yeah;
1/ There is no 'lifting' unless its just to get max speed through a corner
2/ The analogy of a piece of string connected to the steering wheel/throttle was a good 'un
3/ You can seriously chuck a Caterham around and catch it
4/ for once i found that magic of feeling the car start to squirm / move and know what to do to keep it facing in (sort of ) the right direction
5/ Full english before a 'show off' session arent advisable
6/ you get to know the person next to you in a Caterham - Intimately!
7/ That a well sorted car that's track prepped can be way less powerful but more fun/faster than a non set up car.
8/ That i may have used up all the virgins - did i say that it was flipping hot?

Paul, thanks matey, a truly great day out and mucho appreciated ( ps/ pass my thanks to Ian please when you next chat).

FWIW - for those to the West of the patch. Ian runs an outfit called PT Sportscars and as well as selling cars they also prep cars - geo etc etc. Worth knowing....based in Windsor area.

[DJ.]

Sounds like a great day
When is Paul going to let you repeat the experience in the Ultima?

[greenwoo]

When is Paul going to let you repeat the experience in the Ultima?

Ha ha, no thanks Duncan, have already swerved that one, i have a bad back that day.......

[b33fy]

Nice one Mark, sounds like a superb day was had, very generous of Paul and great write up.

[Wingco]

Now that sounds like a fun day out, so its down to you M to show us all next Thursday how it's done ??
Sounded a great day, often wondered if tuition was a good idea, now I know, I wonder if Brands does something like that.
Nice of Paul to let you drive his car, specially under those circumstances, nice write up to Mark.

[kirmodawn1]

Great write up. There's no doubt that driving a lower powered car on its limits is very entertaining. I loved my old Quantum for that.

Bob

[jeffw]

Now that sounds like a fun day out, so its down to you M to show us all next Thursday how it's done ??
Sounded a great day, often wondered if tuition was a good idea, now I know, I wonder if Brands does something like that.
Nice of Paul to let you drive his car, specially under those circumstances, nice write up to Mark.

I hope you mean Friday....

Brands do have instructors (in fact I know one of them very well). But it does cost..I'm happy to sit in and offer suitable dry wit and screams if that would help.

[greenwoo]

Brands do have instructors (in fact I know one of them very well). But it does cost

I've had a couple of instructor sessions at Brands when on track days, thing i found Jeff is that they don't know the car or the lack of ability of the driver, so whilst for sure that type of tuition is worthwhile - it was far more advantageous to have some on hand all day who knew those cars inside out and who in turn was able to instill a degree of confidence about how fast one could try to push on through a corner.

[jeffw]

Agree. There is a significant difference between the one to one tuition you experienced on how to drive a circuit and the normal tuition on a trackday which is more about how to drive a specific track.

[Wingco]

Sorry Jeff, yes Friday.
If you fancy it Jeff i would be more than happy for you to give me a few tips on Friday if you dont mind going slow.