Some may remember (indeed it may still be on the first page) I booked myself on a track day at Brands Hatch today. In short: what a FANTASTIC way to spend your time, it was hugely enjoyable and very good value for money.
The day started at six in the morning (I thought tales of such times were mere legend...) with a bleary cup of coffee, time to collect a few rudimentary emergency tools, then I was on the M20 bound for Brands Hatch. After an uneventful drive up, we arrived at the circuit to sign on and attend the safety briefing.
After that, it was out for a quick game of ducks and drakes. I did three laps behind the safety car keeping an eye open for the marshalls posts, then pull into the pits to swap my dad into the driver's seat. We rejoined the queue for what we thought was a second round of ducks and drakes, only to realise when we got on the track that it was the start of the track time for the morning!
After five tentative laps, my dad pulled into the pits and I took the car out on my own. I've been driven round Brands before, and I got a very good circuit guide from a friend of mine who races a Class C RGB car so it was less of a jump into the deep end for me, and once I felt everything had warmed up I started to have a proper go at the circuit. After five laps, I had a lot of ideas about how not to do things, when I looked down and saw the engine temp nearly into the red!
Needless to say, I came off the power quicker than a very quick thing and toddled round the track and back into the pits to let everything cool off. Once things had gotten back to a sensible level, we ventured out again with my dad driving and the heater on. At one point I thought that something had come amiss and I wasn't going to be able to use the car without it overheating, but it never put a foot wrong again for the rest of the day.
Then an Exige overcooked it coming out of Druids and speared off the track out of Graham Hill and the session was red flagged. I ventured out again when the session restarted, and started to string things together a little better, to the point where I had all four tyres squealing going round Paddock bend.
Then it was time for lunch. Two massive plates of sausages, beans, chips and onion rings in the Kentagon, and the job's a good'un.
After lunch and relaxation, it was time for a brief bit of instruction. This was my only niggle of the day, the procedure for collecting the instructor wasn't that clear. I turned up where I was meant to be at the right time, and nothing happened for about ten minutes. Then the instructor turned up and we set off. After a couple of warmup laps, he started the talk me through the corners, then I really started flying. If you've never driven on a particular track before, I'd wholeheartedly recommend handing over the £25. It doesn't so much shorten the learning curve as flatten it.
Then we settled down for the afternoon, taking ten laps or so then letting the car cool, as the brakes were getting rather hot at times. Then just after 3:15, a Clio threw itself off the track and they brought out the red flags again. Once they'd cleared it, there was time for one last session, and once the initial traffic had cleared I got the chance to string an entire group of laps together.
The absolute highlight of the day was in the last session, the Lambo that'd been tearing round all day came up behind me along the Cooper straight, but didn't overtake. I tipped into the Surtees-McLaren-Clearways combination and hit everything just right, which led to me rocketing down the Brabham straight. The Lambo was in hot pursuit, but had royally messed up his exit from Clearways so was seriously down on speed. I went much faster round Paddock than him, stayed well ahead up to Druids and got away from him in the corner again. I was well set to take a great line round Graham Hill bend too, when he decided that he was exempt from the rules everyone else was playing by and cut me up into the corner. Then he got black flagged.
Overall, the car was great, it got a little bit slippery when I asked a bit too much, but it never felt as though it was just going to snap without a moment's warning. Aside from some proper race compound brake pads, I'll be getting some proper track tyres too, as with a bit more grip I could go a lot faster. There were a couple of Clio Sports out on the track, and I could haul them in on the corners but not quite get enough exit speed to overtake sensibly. Next time...
The day started at six in the morning (I thought tales of such times were mere legend...) with a bleary cup of coffee, time to collect a few rudimentary emergency tools, then I was on the M20 bound for Brands Hatch. After an uneventful drive up, we arrived at the circuit to sign on and attend the safety briefing.
After that, it was out for a quick game of ducks and drakes. I did three laps behind the safety car keeping an eye open for the marshalls posts, then pull into the pits to swap my dad into the driver's seat. We rejoined the queue for what we thought was a second round of ducks and drakes, only to realise when we got on the track that it was the start of the track time for the morning!
After five tentative laps, my dad pulled into the pits and I took the car out on my own. I've been driven round Brands before, and I got a very good circuit guide from a friend of mine who races a Class C RGB car so it was less of a jump into the deep end for me, and once I felt everything had warmed up I started to have a proper go at the circuit. After five laps, I had a lot of ideas about how not to do things, when I looked down and saw the engine temp nearly into the red!
Needless to say, I came off the power quicker than a very quick thing and toddled round the track and back into the pits to let everything cool off. Once things had gotten back to a sensible level, we ventured out again with my dad driving and the heater on. At one point I thought that something had come amiss and I wasn't going to be able to use the car without it overheating, but it never put a foot wrong again for the rest of the day.
Then an Exige overcooked it coming out of Druids and speared off the track out of Graham Hill and the session was red flagged. I ventured out again when the session restarted, and started to string things together a little better, to the point where I had all four tyres squealing going round Paddock bend.
Then it was time for lunch. Two massive plates of sausages, beans, chips and onion rings in the Kentagon, and the job's a good'un.
After lunch and relaxation, it was time for a brief bit of instruction. This was my only niggle of the day, the procedure for collecting the instructor wasn't that clear. I turned up where I was meant to be at the right time, and nothing happened for about ten minutes. Then the instructor turned up and we set off. After a couple of warmup laps, he started the talk me through the corners, then I really started flying. If you've never driven on a particular track before, I'd wholeheartedly recommend handing over the £25. It doesn't so much shorten the learning curve as flatten it.
Then we settled down for the afternoon, taking ten laps or so then letting the car cool, as the brakes were getting rather hot at times. Then just after 3:15, a Clio threw itself off the track and they brought out the red flags again. Once they'd cleared it, there was time for one last session, and once the initial traffic had cleared I got the chance to string an entire group of laps together.
The absolute highlight of the day was in the last session, the Lambo that'd been tearing round all day came up behind me along the Cooper straight, but didn't overtake. I tipped into the Surtees-McLaren-Clearways combination and hit everything just right, which led to me rocketing down the Brabham straight. The Lambo was in hot pursuit, but had royally messed up his exit from Clearways so was seriously down on speed. I went much faster round Paddock than him, stayed well ahead up to Druids and got away from him in the corner again. I was well set to take a great line round Graham Hill bend too, when he decided that he was exempt from the rules everyone else was playing by and cut me up into the corner. Then he got black flagged.
Overall, the car was great, it got a little bit slippery when I asked a bit too much, but it never felt as though it was just going to snap without a moment's warning. Aside from some proper race compound brake pads, I'll be getting some proper track tyres too, as with a bit more grip I could go a lot faster. There were a couple of Clio Sports out on the track, and I could haul them in on the corners but not quite get enough exit speed to overtake sensibly. Next time...
