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View Full Version : My track day experience.........


jon_s
08-23-2003, 01:08 PM
Well what can I say............hummmmm, I want a 355! lol

Christ what an experience! The four cars that i drove were all very different beasts!! I shall go through them individually:

Scooby-do: This thing has grip, more grip and yet more grip! That is the biggest thing about it! It was the most refined (as in quiet, comfy e.t.c) The steering was lighter than I was expecting, I got used to the gears quick in this car too. All together, this is a bloody good car, it has more grip than you will ever need, and if you do find its limits........good luck!

Race prepared 996 cup car: Appart from the road tyres this was a race car, and what a difference, stripped out, heavy clutch and you could hear every component of the engine work. This was by far the quickest car there. On the back straight it got to just over 170mph before braking all the way down to 40mph which was an experience! The weight over the rear wheels in this car made it deadly if you lifted off mid-corner, smooth steering was the trick to this car. Oh did I mention that this car ws HOT inside! Bloody hell how to race drivers cope!

Lotus Elise: Now this is a nice car, not too sure about it on a road, but on a track it was a joy to drive. Out of all the cars its gear box and I got on best. Steering got a bit vague at about 110mph+ but it all adds to the fun (probably had something to do with the road surface more than the car) I can't get over how this thing handles!

Ferrari 355: Now this is a car! When I first went out, I put my foot down and thought 'yeah this is fast but...' before I could finish my mental conversation I heard, are you going to put your foot down? Fook I was only half throttle, suddenly the full noise of the beast screamed from behind as we got over 6,000 revs. The gear change: what an experience, kind of went clunk click clunk between gears! lovely! My second outing in this car was better, I moved closer to the pedals which sorted things out, then I bonded with the car, again smooth steering I feel was the key. Christ this thing flew.

VERDICT:

If I was a family man needing one car I would get the Scooby without doubt. If I wanted a pure track car I would get the Elise, if I was spending my cash with my heart the 355 would be the only thing on my drive. They were all surprisingly easy to drive. All in all, a bloody good day out!

I have pics and a vid comming soon(ish!)

TT
08-23-2003, 01:21 PM
Man, you can only guess how much I hate you now :P

I really envy you, and A LOT!

Can't wait for some footage!

jon_s
08-23-2003, 02:51 PM
:cry: :cry: :cry: can anyone help?? I have just watched the vid of my day. Having laughed at my parents attempt at filming, I was looking forward to some in car footage of my lap. But just before the tape goes to that section, it all goes wrong. There is no sound :cry: and the picture is all jumbled up. You can just about make the lap out. It is a real shame. I was using a TDK DV tape in a Panasonic NV-DS30. It was not the fact that the car was bumpy as some footage just before the lap is also ruined. Please let me know if there is anything I can do! :(

Jabba
08-23-2003, 03:24 PM
Damn that 355 sounds great....I love the part where you mention the lovely clicking sound as you move through the gears ( it is a crime to have a paddle shift and miss out on this IMO)....let me know what you want me to do and I will help you with the video in anyway I can...especially as I have some experience of bruntingthorpe...

did you see my bruntingthorp pics on RF btw jon ???

1zippo1
08-23-2003, 03:26 PM
Nice story, thx for sharing. Wish I could do something like you did in the near future... who can tell.

Don't know anything about video tapes and stuff, so sorry can't help ya.

Real pitty :(

AlienDB7
08-23-2003, 06:11 PM
You're one lucky guy, I'm envious of you now! Which elise did you drive? the 111S or the 190?

For the video, did you try transferring it to pc through firewire? It may play better with some software than on the DV. You can probably try playing it on other DV as well.

TT
08-23-2003, 06:46 PM
Nice story, thx for sharing. Wish I could do something like you did in the near future... who can tell.

Don't know anything about video tapes and stuff, so sorry can't help ya.

Real pitty :(

We should all fly for a track week end in UK!!

cho_888
08-23-2003, 08:29 PM
Some nice cars there, would have been unreal

SFDMALEX
08-23-2003, 11:57 PM
Nice story, thx for sharing. Wish I could do something like you did in the near future... who can tell.

Don't know anything about video tapes and stuff, so sorry can't help ya.

Real pitty :(

We should all fly for a track week end in UK!!

If I was a millionare I would buy a track day at Brands Hatch for all of us. Would be nice if all the people from here gatherd in one place. Bunch of horny guys, with the need for speed.

AlienDB7
08-24-2003, 01:06 AM
Nice story, thx for sharing. Wish I could do something like you did in the near future... who can tell.

Don't know anything about video tapes and stuff, so sorry can't help ya.

Real pitty :(

We should all fly for a track week end in UK!!

If I was a millionare I would buy a track day at Brands Hatch for all of us. Would be nice if all the people from here gatherd in one place. Bunch of horny guys, with the need for speed.
Maybe you should consider getting an empty air field instead so we can set it up like the top gear test track :D Not to mention all the tire burning stuff, tiff/jeremy style!

TT
08-24-2003, 03:59 AM
Let's throw in some nude pin-up too! :D