jon hill

anyone at brands indi this monday for the evening track "day" ?

first time i'll have taken a car round (been there on a bike, which was a scarey experience)...

jon

Danny Fisher

Might pop down, on earlys Monday.

Dan

DominicA

what time does it start?? anyone fancy giving me some passenger laps??

Dom

RonaldoH

Dom, your a monkey.

I might come actually, could be a good crack.

Dom, wanna meet up me old china?

Ron

JAMES BUSHELL

is it just a general trackday..? CLUB96, etc..?

I may turn up..? Be rude not to as i'm only down the road...

James

Dom & Ron wanna meet up B4 hand , that is if i can make it..?

[This message has been edited by JAMES BUSHELL (edited 06 July 2001).]

jon hill

easytrack day - so open to any car, though i think its all booked up.

If you come along, feel free to say hello and jump in for some passenger laps. Its my first time at brands and its only a couple of hours so i cnat promise anything too entertaining as i like to take it easy to learn the track properly.

see you there (black integra type-r if i havent mentioned it already )

jon

JAMES BUSHELL

what time does it go on to, won't be there until about 6.30..... ish..

BTW brands is the nuts of a track...!!!!

James

jon hill

billed as 6 - 8 pm

though they reckon it could be a 5pm start.

yeah - first time i went into paddock, knee down and the world disappears from under you

KimA

Dom, Ron & James,

Don't forget me

DARREN

I'll be there about 5.15
Shall bring the camcorder and get a bit of footage.
I'm only at Bexleyheath!!
See you there
Darren
Silver STi with gold mims

JAMES BUSHELL

I'll be there..

you can't miss mine, red WRX, white Compomtives.....

James

jon hill

Well that was my first really sh1t3 track day

MatthewC

Well, Jon, with all that supporting detail, it's pretty hard to disagree with you...

Ian Sutton

Jon, what went wrong then?

..IS

jon hill

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by MatthewC:
<B>Well, Jon, with all that supporting detail, it's pretty hard to disagree with you... [/quote]

yep. no one can say i was wrong

anyway, you asked for it - here goes...

First thing was my fault. I bought new shoes (pair of sparco boots), first time I've worn "driving" footwear. I just could not heel & toe in them. The soles are so narrow, and the ITR's pedals so far apart that I cant twist my leg round enough to touch the throttle while on the brake. Maybe with more practise, but it's an absolute nightmare (it was fairly straight forward with a tight pair of trainers). Anyway, this meant that every gear change was a mess and taking up too much concentration. Stuff like the right hander before clearways and into paddock ( ? ) where you're having to brake & shift while turning was just horrible.

Next - 30 minute sessions. Whats that all about ? How many people can concentrate fully on a track for 30 mins, and how many cars can handle 30 mins on brakes & tyres. With only two sessions you dont want to come in and have a 5 - 10 minute rest. So that was pants. Also, it doesn't allow you to go out take a couple of 12 minute sessions easy to get the feel of things, come in, have a think about what you're doing and build up the speed over a few sessions.

I dont really think I came anywhere near to learning the track

Too many cars - always someone in front and someone behind. Its got to have been the busiest track day I've been on in the car - more like a bike track day. And Brands doesnt make it easy to either pass or let people pass.

Finally, the whole evening thing is a pain the backside. Rushing down, crap traffic, no super unleaded within a 1000 mile radius of the track.

Anyway, win some loose some, etc. Rockingham on Saturday. I'll take my trainers too.

Jon

JAMES BUSHELL

Sounds very frustrating...!!!

from what i saw there were a few muppets on track or was that in the Paddock... ..

James

jon hill

yep (me included i think...)

too many cars with too wide a range of abilities and not enough room to easily get by. There was an evo that was flying at one extreme and a boxster that i was lapping every 4 or 5 laps at the other.

JAMES BUSHELL

That Boxster was an absolute joke....

J

MatthewC

So what was the session format? 30mins on, 30mins off? The next eztrack event there says 45 cars, so did you have that many on Monday? I'm sure 15 car sessions would have been peachy... so assuming 22. Hmmm, Indy circuit is pretty short, so 22 could seem busy, I guess. But maybe they ran some completely different session config?

30mins is a pretty long time if you're not used to it - I reckon very few people benefit from the last 10mins. The advantage over 20mins is that if there's a stoppage or delay getting started you still get a decent run.

Good to hear Marcus was being strict. The recent Silverstone day was a bit of a disaster thanks to muppets (and other factors!), so it sounds like he's cracking down.

As for the boots thing, i guess you live'n'learn. B4 my first track day I even tried my helmet on in the car to make sure I fitted comfortably - I think you have to try everything out in advance. And there's nothing wrong with trying out your boots on the public highway!

Better luck next time.

jon hill

yep - 30 on, 30 off, 30 on.

i'm far more used to 20 mins max. At Castle Coombe a couple of weeks back they had 12 min sessions - which, in fact, were fine. Though they then ran an open pit lane at the end which was even better... 30 minutes is just too long, both on the driver and the car.

And yep 22 cars in a session, which IMO is too many for brands.

The rule enforcement was good - but its a balance, and this is the first track event i've been on where i felt they were too strict. Some guy span his tvr, but stayed on the track and didnt get in anyones way. He was black flagged and was sent home. IMO it would have been fairer to bring him into the pits, have a word, etc. But let him back out, keeping an eye on him. Though, I guess he may have been a liability up to the point he span - so its difficult to tell.

Shoes, yeah, live and learn. I'll wear them on the road (though i'll feel like a prat when I get out to buy the petrol )

Cheers

Jon

DARREN

That ST200 blue Mondeo running an induction kit,uprated suspension and slicks wasnt doing to bad at all? was he

Darren

TRIGGER

One reason for Marcus' strictness may have been due to Brands Hatch Leisure's recent clamp down on trackday companies. He was lucky to get any days at Brands I think, so was probably over cautious.

jon hill

yeah - it looked like a rep mobile, but sounded great and shifted. It was the same bunch of guys that had the evo - always worries me 4 -5 guys keeping to themselves, and hauling "another" set of slicks, the spare gear box, three spare engines, etc, etc, out of the boot

daved6

Hi Jon

I was the guy running the silver E6 along with my mate with the ST200, we had a good time although I was under the impression it was meant to be 3 hrs track time when I booked up.
I found in general people did try & move over for you , but you are correct there were some complete novices out there causing some frustration , instead of just spliting the entry in half in my opinion they should ask for previous experience on the entry so they can split up into groups with similar abilities which would be more fun for everyone.
We only had spare wheels & fuel with us through !!
It was the first time weve been to Brands we were just getting sorted for the RSOC day this Saturday @ Castle Combe all day track time only £75.
Any one going from here ?
Do you boys allow MLR members on your track days ?

Regards Dave

jon hill

AARGGHHHH.... Glad i was careful what i said

what have you done to the st200 ? seemed to move along ok...

First time at brands for me also, and yep I was told open pit lane, 3 hours.

Stick a post up about coombe and see if anyone is going - i'm off to rockingham on saturday though. Its Easytrack, and i'm hoping its better than brands.

jon