A word of warning too: the big sweeper before the pit straight takes a good 5 seconds or so to get around, and it's all too easy for the oil in your sump to naff off up the left side of your engine and starve the bearings. With nasty consequences... So it's very advisable to either run a dry sump, or baffles in the sump, or maybe even just don't take the sweeper at too high a pace. I was told it's a real problem at Hampton thanks the that last big sweeper.
Here's a few pix, mostly taken by my wife Michelle. Hopefully they help convey a wee bit of the atmosphere of the day...
And thanks to Brendan for bringing his BBQ. Much needed nourishment for the crew!
Pitlane:
Couple of the SW's that turned up (good stuff guys hope you had fun?)
Mel's BBY4RE (below) - I'd say this would have to have been the quickest MR2 on the day at 1 minute 20 seconds for a lap of the club-car circuit? (hope I got that right Mel)
Dunno - how were you other guys doing?
All I know is I must have been the slowest MR2 on the track!
There was a large mob of Skyline GTRs, another of BMW M3's, another of Lotuses and another of Redline kit cars - the last two being MR2 powered (more or less) so we decided they were honorary MR2's eh...
Leaving the pitlane...
Despite nasty spongy brakes after just a few laps, and having a heck of a time trying to get a bead on how far to push it on the corners (cos you can't hear the tyres until they're REALLY screaming with a helmet on eh) it was still impossible to wipe that silly grin off my face.
Hey, I'm just a newbie, right...? =)
The track is simply brilliant (with the possible exception of the last sweeper which as a racing corner IS brilliant but is a potential killer for road cars). Here's a view which if you look in the background of the picture gives you some idea of the twisty nature of the track. It has awesome elevation changes too...
Well, anyone else have any more pix or footage?
Thanks to all who came - especially those who came for a gander and didn't get to drive. Good on yas! Cheers.
