Looks like I won the award for best Hotel booking of the trip. The lads didn’t believe I’d found a real Castle for under �50 per night. It’s just as well we brought Queen Tony along who was delighted to discover they had a cocktail bar.
As we turn off the main road onto the ribbon of single lane tarmac running alongside Loch Shin there’s a howling noise as the two S2 Exiges in front of me open up the revs to full chat. Shortly followed by crackles and pops as they lift off momentarily for the twists and crests. Very quickly the noise starts to diminish, it’s not because they’ve stopped or backed off, it’s because they’ve buggered off and left me. Try as I may to pedal Dave’s fantastic Renault Spider it’s absolutely no match for the Exige’s in this Highland territory, not with me driving it anyway.
After a half hourly of driving one of the best ever roads I’ve been on I emerge at the T junction and as predicted they’re no where in sight. Making a wild assumption that they actually listened to my directions I turn left and pedal it for another 15 minutes alone in the wilderness. Just to rub it in it’s starting to rain�hard, and I don’t have a roof.
Around the next corner there they are, sat at the viewpoint. Tony is foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog after the excitement of driving my Exige rally car on such an incredible road. He wants to know how much a set of Ohlins costs and how long will it take me to fit them for him on his car. John the Birthday boy and Exige virgin is white as a sheet after sitting next to Tony. After driving Tony’s Exige, Dave is holding his head in his hands, after 8 years of loyal Spider ownership he’s realised what he’s missing. Could we have converted him to the dark side?
And me, well I’m soaked to the bone, freezing cold�and grinning like a Cheshire cat. The Spider is a huge amount of fun to drive. It couldn’t be more different to drive than an Exige. Heavy steering, brakes from the Exon Valdeez and Michelin road tyres. But it’s got loads of low down torque and all the straight line speed of an Exige and when it’s being pedalled by it’s rightful owner then it’s equally on the pace with us.
That’s a flavour of the fun we’ve just had on our Scottish tour, the three brothers in law � Tony, John and myself plus our friend Dave. One reason for the trip was John’s fianc� asked if we could arrange a supercar driving day for him for his 30th birthday. We thought we could go one better than that and instead of 4 laps of a track he covered 1200 miles in 3 long days, staying 95% on A and B roads.
On previous trips we’ve stayed to the West coast but this time we started up the East side and found some absolutely stunning roads. Here’s a few of our recommendations�
A93 from Perth to Balmoral, fantastic open roads through the ski centres then beautiful pine forests
A939 from Ballater to Speybridge, my favourite choice, a bit of everything an Exige likes
A838 Lairg to Laxford Bridge, remote single track, fantastic adventure
A82 Glencoe to Tyndrum, always great, watch for Bambi’s
The B roads around the Scottish borders were also excellent. Although we had a lot of fun we did keep it safe. Always slowing down for cyclists, sheep, golfers and motorcyclists as they are all activities I have an interest in myself.
We found some great hotels too. The Glen hotel in Selkirk was a lovely small hotel run by friendly people. They moved their cars to make sure we could park ours securely and they made some tasty Steak sandwich suppers upon our late arrival at 10pm. The Airth Castle hotel near Falkirk was a real winner. After 11 hours of driving we had a dip in the spa and a great meal, not forgetting the cocktails for Tony.
Just before the trip I fitted a brand new set of Kumho V70’s in a medium (K60) compound as an alternative to Yoko’s. I must say thanks to Tony from Blackpool South Shore Tyres for his recommendation and for fitting them last minute for me. In the dry they never broke loose at all and in the wet they were incredible. I’ve never had that much confidence in a Lotus when it’s raining. There is a but� after 1200 miles the fronts are half worn, which is in line with Tony’s prediction of 3000 road miles. But that is always the choice you make. For dry track days and regular road use I would go for the harder K90 compound, they’ve got to be as good as Yoko’s.
The other revelation was the seats. I half considered refitting my Probax seats and taking out the Motordrive race seats. However, the verdict of 4 independent drivers including two with bad backs, was that the Motordrives were the most comfortable seat by far. The position and support was perfect. On the last day I spent 11 hours in the seat and was amazed at how good it was. I won’t be keeping the Probax in reserve anymore.
The only other issue was my indicator popping out of the clam, it happened a couple of times at low speed with potholes but went completely airborne on a fast downhill in Glenshee. Amazingly Dave and John managed to avoid running over it and I recovered it in one piece and refitted it.
The car is now enjoying a well earned rest in it’s stable. I think it will be staying there for a while now as I’ve used up a lot of credit, especially with the domestic boss! (No trouser posts please Pesky!)
Driver of the trip award has to go to John. It was his first time driving an Exige, he drives tractors for a living. He did a great job, keeping up the pace and staying cool and in control. He amazed me how smooth and confident he was in the frequently wet conditions on some very challenging roads. I think he’s earned his Exige wings ~o~
