Mike, that sounded like: see what my X" feels…
Mike, that sounded like: see what my X" feels…
Rox
I think he means what his Exige feels like
I hope he means his Exige
chaps, i’ve got 1 place available for tomorrow following a cancellation. JohnO, IDG or anyone else interested before I start phoning around the reserve listees call me ASAP on 0870 7441635.
J5
BaT
Come ya bunch of slackers…
Wheres the reports… the videos… the story tellin’
Who wupped who’s ass??
OK - A morsel…
Pesky was showing me his lines, just after a restart/redlight situation…
We came down the pitlane straight which leads onto the Redgate corner…
As Pesky turned in I was about one car length behind him…
Only thing was, he started to spin, slowly and gracefully, and I had to decide which side to go…
Heads you win - tails I lose !!
I chose to spin off, reasoning that I was bound to miss him that way, yanking the wheel hard right and stamping on the anchors…
We both spun off and everyone said that it was very much like that thing they do in synchronised swimming…
Turned out that some unlucky Caterham owner had dropped an oil slick 18 inches wide from Redgate all the way to the apex of McLeans…
I went backwards into the kittylitter by a couple of yards, and was even able to drag myself out, though I rattled like crazy for the rest of the lap (and it took me ages poking around inside the undertray etc getting the stuff out).
No damage
Another morsel - guess whose Exige got the full throttle whether you want it or not gremlin fifteen minutes from the end, and caused a premature finish???
Yep, twas me…
Finally, I got my ass whupped by most people in Exiges, but especially by RussT and Uldis…
But I did manage to do the Craner Curves genuinely flat from mid Redgate towards the end of the day
Hi All,
Sorry about the delay Rox, Next time you will have to come down then you wont feel thet you have missed out.
What a brilliant day! better than the previous evening. On our way to the hotel in my Dads M3 for a drink with “da boyz” We had an encounter with the local wild-life. A Bloody great big badger wearing Doc’Martins jumped out from behind a bush and kicked the front of the car in. The spoiler was hnging off and the grille was smashed but worse ther was oil dripping from the broken oil cooler so we did the only thing we could do, Park up and go to the bar (tow truck came a took car away)
On Wednesday the weather was perfect, the sun was shining but there was a cool breeze to keep the temps down. The day started well with the donny virgins getting there sighting laps done then the old hands came out to play, surface was a bit dusty to start with but soon cleared.
Things were gong well then unfortunatly a red light for a westy XTR2 up to its axels in the gravel (but car + drivers ok).
With the usual Book-a-track/Donnington efficiency the car was cleared and the circuit opened again.
But then AGGGGHHHH Two exiges (Pesky and Mike) in the gravel at redgate, first word was that there had been contact but this wasn’t the case. Someone had dumped oil on the turn in for redgate and that had caused the Exige duo to swop end’s. Thankfully with no dammage and credit to both for not making contact. Session stopped again
About 1 hour later we got the green light again with a trail of cement dust from redgate to coppice.
The afternoon was pritty trouble free with lots of track time had by everybody. The only problems were caused by stones beind dragged onto the track and causing a few broken driving lamps and chips on windscreens (sh*t happens)
A brief moment of pannic for Russ T coasting into pit lane with no engine, Turned out to be a loose fuse which was quickly sorted. Mike Lane also had the throttle pedal work loose but was also able to make it into the pits and get the car fixed.
At the end of the day the usual “hero” stories started off, “How fast!, How sideways! How late on the brakes!” you know the ones, But that’s what made the day so much fun.
Every body in the exige camp had a great day.
Hope all you guys go home safely and Uldis, Donny to Aberdeen after a full track day!
We made it home Ok but the alternater light came on so we have probably cooked another alternater. A small price to pay for such an enjoyable day.
Last thing to say is “Thanks” to Jonny And everyone at Boot-a-track and Donnington for another fantastically organised day.
I had a fantastic time, and I wasn’t even driving. Thanks for the rides Andy and Russ Andy, hope your paintwork’s OK. Russ, you’re a loony , but I was seriously impressed by both car and driver.
It was great to meet everyone. Hope to see you all again soon.
Arrived at 2:00 am today.
The A68 was memorable in the night, fully relaxed, not too fast, enjoying the sweepers like they’re ment to be.
Bt the A90 later… I was falling asleep!
Anyway, thoroughly enjoyed the day(s).
The car was running smoother than ever (mapping session did wonders), more powerful and linear, willing to rev at any hint of the foot approaching (maybe the pedal fears my foot already)
The only problems (apart from the ones reported already) were:
-brake judder (new setup, Hi-Spec disks and Pagid RS14 just didn’t work), have to talk to Hi Spec. I could have gone about 1 sec a lap faster with that sorted
-the sooo many pebbles brought in to the tarmac by the off-roading cars (some of them on purpose, like the yellow Lancia Delta Integrale, cutting corners to make time ). Result: three important chips in the windscreen.
But overall I loved it, but it’s one of he few circuits where I have the throttle either full on or off (on most of the time). Only feathering came on the exit of the hairpin to the main straight to control the wheelspin (so many times on the rev limiter there )
It was great to see you all southerners again, and some new faces too!
The only passenger I took out was Christine at the end of the day (great looking car she has ) and was foing to take (Charles? was it?) but the session got red flagged and then checkered when Mike Lane had a full-throttle-sticking situation, bringing out the towtruck and a (slightly) early end of the day.
Charles didn’t manage to see what an Exige feels like on the track. Oh well, next time.
Looking forward to the next one.
Uldis (…still tired)
(…and have to wash the car now)
(…and sort out the brakes)
(…and balance the wheels)
(…and call Autoglass)
(…and find a job !!!)
mike, STEVE E.
Thanks for sharing , sounds fun as I expected, i’m pretty sorry i missed it (kids to Alton Towers tommorrow)… MAJIKK.
Glad to hear no-serious damage, the synchronised swimming without water sounds like fun… how’s the old guy’s ticker after that then? no lasting damage I hope…
STEVE E - hope the M3 not too bad and all gets fixed pronto.
ULDIS
Hows the secret weapon then ?? how does it compare with before… ?
The only problems (apart from the ones reported already) were:
-brake judder (new setup, Hi-Spec disks and Pagid RS14 just didn’t work), have to talk to Hi Spec. I could have gone about 1 sec a lap faster with that sorted-the sooo many pebbles brought in to the tarmac by the off-roading cars (some of them on purpose, like the yellow Lancia Delta Integrale, cutting corners to make time ). Result: three important chips in the windscreen.
Uldis - surprised to hear that your brake set-up isn’t right just yet - I had the feeling that you had maybe got to a perfect set-up keep us posted with developments after you speak to Hi Spec.
About the yello Grale… didn’t Bookatrack or Marshalls have anything to say about it cutting corners?
Great Day - Good to see you all!
It seems that I have suffered from a windscreen peppered in stonechips as well!
Giles
Sounds like a good day. Glad to hear no-one came together in the spin.
Uldis, you should have stopped by mine on the way back to save you a few hours driving.
how’s the old guy’s ticker after that then? no lasting damage I hope…
Monsieur Lane is fine, thanks for asking about him
I must express big thanks to Mike for his quick reactions in not running into the back of me at Redgate. Strangest moment ever on track - entry speed was not quick (end of first lap of session) & just as I started to turn in the back end suddenly overtook the front - TWICE! As this was happening could see Mike in my mirrors doing the same thing. I just couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong - tyre blow-out maybe?? Steve Green who was in my passenger seat was the essence of calmness Anyway, started to drive away - all felt okay, then we saw the bloody 18 inch wide oil trail all along the racing line - for about 3/4 mile down the Craners, through Swantz & finishing between Macleans & Coppice where a deceased Caterfield was parked up on the grass!
Apart from that, it was indeed a cracking day, & great to see so many Exigers there. As mentioned elsewhere, our resident trackmeisters were “givin it large” & enertaining the masses From what I saw of our guys on track, nobody was hanging about, & everyone was coming back into pits with smiles after every session.
Special mention must go to Uldis - what a man mega track miles, then driving (7 hours?) back to Aberdeen - I salute you sir!
Very nice day. Good to put some faces to some names.
Pleased to see how well our standard car coped against all the VTEC’ed / Emeralded / Nitroned / go-fast striped cars out there.
Was very nicely balanced, one of it’s best days.
Anyone want to buy a Tuscan S ?
Mark
Pleased to see how well our standard car coped against all the VTEC’ed / Emeralded / Nitroned / go-fast striped cars out there.
Yep was going very well - particularly when ya missus was at the wheel
Look forward to seeing you guys at Oulton sometime - will suit your style of driving Mark
Great day, great weather, thanks again to Edwards Rescue for the assist. Bonus - no “screamers” in the pax seat.
The ‘old guy’ has a great sense of humour…
So Mike, how many g’s did u pull in that spin
Hi Lisa
Actually I don’t know…
I had thought that the DL90 worked in a continuous loop overwriting old data, but it doesn’t, so it was full and had stopped!!!
I had to put my eyeballs back in, so I would guess at at least 10 G