Friday 28th July 2006
Today several (10-15?) 928s and a small selection of other exotica
gathered at Castle Combe for a repeat of the hugely successful track
day organised by Richard Armstrong earlier this year.
Having had quite possibly the most fun you can have with your clothes
on at the earlier event, I was one of the first to sign up for a
repeat. As I arrived at a very grey race track at ten to nine this
morning, in light drizzle, I have to be honest and say I was wishing I
hadn't bothered.
One very strict safety briefing later "the circuit is worse than if it
was raining, it's kind of in between... it's very very slippy...if you
go in the grass you won't come back until we tow you back...the bikers
were convinced there was diesel...it's like ice" I was feeling even
more un race like.
However, we got on there, taking it very, very easy, I believe I
claimed the first spin, at about 35mph on lap 2 coming out of the
"Esses" chicane. There were several others on a very wet morning
session (though it only rained properly once). Rich A himself went
into the grass and there were lovely pirouette marks round "Bobbies".
Novice drivers like myself simply slowed down, using the reduced speed
as an opportunity to conentrate on line and technique, braking points
etc. I also discovered that my rear tyres vie with the Hankook Ventus
for the title "Worst Wet Weather Tyre". They're Cooper somethings by
the way - don't ever bother with Coopers unless you are joining Rich's
"Tokyo Drift" 928 racing school.
Final session before lunch I grabbed a ride with (the other) Rich's
manual 928S. I'd seen him in my rear view mirror in the previous
session, approaching rapidly yet somehow at a 45 degree angle. Now I
was to experience Rich's "Fast and the Furious" style for myself.
Until we broke the brake pads it was quite possibly the most
entertaining experience of the day - Rich was chucking the car into
the corners, stepping the back out and wringing all 6500 rpm out in
each gear in a hugely fun yet fast session. Had we not lost the brakes
I believe we may have even been closing on what (surely?) should have
been the quickest car of the day, a murderous looking 993 Carrera RS
(number plate G6 WAR).
However over lunch the sun came out and by 2pm the track was mostly
dry. I went out for a couple of sessions and began to apply the
lessons of the morning, as a novice merely trying to build up to full
power all through Camp and Folly, and timing the gear changes right
(not easy in an auto).
As the track dried I grew in confidence and speed, which of course is
the really satisfying part of a track day. I also got a session in
Dave's Caterham R400. What is a Caterham R400? I hear you ask. It is a
device designed for the sole purpose of going from A to B via points
C, D, E, F and G in the shortest time possible. It's like being
strapped into a roller skate being towed by a 747.
The final session was the best, just 3 of us on the track, a Caterham,
my S2 and Alan's lovely grey GT equipped with some really nice RUF
wheels. We were all running really well and I began to feel the
beginnings of some understanding for the circuit and the car.
A quick word on the metal assembled:
numerous 928s, including Paul A's racer (sponsored by Pollyfilla), a
surprisingly quick blue S4 auto E reg, lovely black manual GTS, Paul
B's very pretty S2 manual, Alan's aforementioned GT, James' track day
weapon the Elise, a brace of Caterhams, the Autobahn Aggressor 993 RS,
what appeared to be my mum's Audi 80 (didn't realise she'd had a
sports exhaust fitted) and finally a lovely dark blue 70s 911 racer.
Many thanks to Rich A for another superbly organised day, and to all
who were there for another day of great fun with these fabulous cars.
Best,
Joel
1985 S2 Auto
PS: Actually final word should go to my car: 21 years old, yet again
I've driven it 200 miles, thrashed the shit out of it (85 miles on
track today) and running great!
Mikes Pics here - (External Link)
Fly by Videos here - (External Link)
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