In the lobby area was an original Lotus 7 on loan from the Nearn family (no photo sorry). There was also a bare CSR chassis to see how it differs to a regular Seven chassis. There was also the new Monaco Seven model. Inside was red carpet trim – not necessarily my cup of tea when it comes to style but I appreciate the effort to keep the designs fresh.

Out back in the warehouse was where they keep the jewels. There were more Sevens in one spot than I had seen in my entire life. We think it is an achievement in the US when we get 10-15 Sevens at a major meeting. Not having been to 7-7-07, I clearly missed a major meeting but even so, the garage below was impressive:

My guide was David Ridley, Caterham’s International Development Manager, who showed me the various models, features of the entire range – something we just don’t see with our smaller Seven market in the US. I was able to sit, study, admire, drool and generally be a nuisance while checking things out. It was intriguing to see the CSR with its inboard front suspension, IRS and curvy dash:

I was also able to discuss David’s plans for the Caterham Drive Experience coming to the USA in 2011 (hopefully?).

While I was there, a proud owner brought in his new Seven race car (I think it was an Academy). Just to show that the English have a well developed sense of humor, the Caterham sales guys were calling it the fried egg car – as it was a yellow and white color scheme (white body, yellow nose cone, cycle wings, and rear wings).

To fill in time while I was there on the weekend, I had arranged to join a full day session of the Caterham Circuit Experience at Silverstone Circuit. These are a fairly big event held regularly in the UK. Other variations on the theme are the Caterham Drive Experience (an auto-x/slalom style of event) and the Caterham Drift Experience.

The format for the day is to turn up at 8am, wake up with coffee and breakfast and have a 30 min briefing on the circuit, safety factors, and generally how the day will progress. Then you are turned loose on the circuit with your instructor who takes you on an initial 3 lap demonstration to point which way the track runs, the basic layout, the racing lines and give you some basics on safety protocols (i.e. when to overtake, etc). It worked out that I shared a car with 2 other guys in the morning and in the afternoon it was sharing with just 1 other guy. You ended up with roughly 3 x 15-20 min sessions in the morning and after lunch another 3 x 20 min sessions all driven with the instructor next to you coaching you by intercom. The final element of the day was the instructor taking you out to show you how a Seven can really handle in the hands of a pro instead of a ham fisted hacker (like me!).

Some of you know that I had a large incident on a track many years back and lost confidence so I figured this was my way to get back in the saddle gently and regain some confidence.

The cars were a mix of S3 and SV chassis. The engines were Sigma 150 which are Ford 1.6L 150 FWHP standard engines matched up with the Caterham 6 speed gearbox and no LSD. Standard seats and interior with 4 pt harnesses and an FIA roll bar. From my scrutiny they looked completely stock other than no ignition key and the speedo was deactivated (so no telling how fast you were going). Tires were the standard Avon SV3 road going tires with full tread – lots of squealing.

The Caterham crew was quite large. Six cars were there of which we were using four. There were 4 instructors, a coordinator, and two mechanics all led by “Sudsy” as chief instructor.

We were using Silverstone’s south circuit (i.e. the southern end of the F1 circuit). The National circuit had a race meeting on and Stowe was being used by a Drive a Formula Ford for a day program.

South Circuit is the top half of the circuit in this aerial image of the full complex

 We shared the south circuit with Silverstone’s own drive experience program where you turn up and pay your money to drive a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Audi R8 or Lotus Exige for a few laps and then get taken around by a pro. There was also an R300-400 Caterham Seven running around with an insanely crazy talented driver scaring the hell out of paying passengers. It is an amazing facility dedicated to driving. The South circuit was nicely challenging – a nice mix of flat out corners and slow tights turns. Abbey into Farm was my favorite although intellectually the hardest was Stowe – much faster than you would expect from an initial drive. Despite the lack of power the Sevens were extremely competitive with the exotics as the straights were not too long and so it was only Hangar straight where a small power advantage came into play. The R300/400 seemed to obliterate anything else on the track – no straight line power disadvantage was apparent. Naturally the exotics could not beat the Sevens for general handling and braking nimbleness.

The instructors were all professionals. Mine for the day was Bradley Ellis who has carved out an impressive list of racing achievements in a relatively short space of time.   His you-tube video of hanging the tail out of a Porsche Cayenne medic car at the British Touring Car Championship Silverstone race meet:

Initial drive session started off just circulating the course in 5th gear to simplify learning. Later sessions introduced more gears, later braking, etc. Despite being initially underwhelmed by the 1.6L engine, I was proved wrong. It was a wonderfully tractable little unit that revved freely up to 7000rpm and sounded great going down the straight. Speeds were not that high – I was seeing 7000rpm briefly in 5th gear at the end of Hangar Straight, before dabbing the brakes into Stowe corner. Later, Sudsy said that was about 110mph. Interestingly Brad was doing about the same in his demo laps. The only criticism I could make was that these cars had a small throttle opening jerkiness that made it sometimes difficult to feed power in gently plus the different pedal heights made it difficult for me to heel and toe. This was not just me as other participants made the same observations. Practice makes the problem go away as the pros did not have the same problem.

The role of the instructor is critical – to push you at times to go harder and hold you back when you are being a little too wild. Brad was excellent at pushing me harder all the time - he knew exactly my issue and how to make me overcome them. For example, there was a Audi R8 V10 that was pretty slow around corners that I ended up being strongly encouraged to overtake going down Hangar Straight as the Audi V10 started to hit stride - a drag race I assumed I could not win. Not only did I find I could keep pace up to about 100mph, I ended up passing the Audi as he started to brake at the end of Hangar Straight. As for the little wild, Silverstone has a 2 spins and you are out policy – something I was not prepared to test. However, Sudsy had a group of Eastern Europeans to instruct and from appearances they had never driven a car with a steering wheel before. If coming around a fast corner to find a Seven mid racing line facing you after it spun is unnerving then think about Sudsy in the passenger seat of the spun car thinking how do I control this student! Sudsy was heard to utter later in the afternoon “I thought I was going to die today.” Fair assessment based on what I saw from that group.

The SV model I started with in the morning was retired by 11am with cooling issues – a small leak in the radiator allowed the remaining coolant to boil itself into froth. This was the only breakdown of the day. Bonnets did not come up on any of the other cars that I saw. Pretty impressive for cars that were being thrashed all day on a circuit. Spare car coming up:

Overall, I thought it was a great day. By the end of the day I was feeling respectably fast again - able to keep up and pass many of the exotic road cars and the other Circuit Experience Sevens circulating. I certainly felt more confident and secure in my abilities and know what I need to work on going forward – I can see that my transition from braking to acceleration was not smooth enough and needs working on, I struggled finding the right gears at times (I kept on being confused by the 6 spd gear layout compared to my 5 spd T-9) plus I could see that I was sometimes misjudging the entry by apexing too early. The width of a F1 circuit is staggering compared to any other circuit I have been on – many of the corners were flat out accelerating in a Seven. Even Village corner which felt relatively slow was still a 70mph corner(so I was told).  Here is a Caterham midway through Stowe corner:

(Apologies for grainy pics - I only had a pocket camera and I was a fair distance away.)

Aside from my failings, the day is an impressive showcasing of the abilities of a Caterham Seven. All prospective Se7en owners should consider a day like this if it is available as it is only in this environment that you truly understand what giant killing cars Se7ens are. These days are not cheap and will never be when you consider we had a car provided, fuel, tires, full professional instruction, pit mechanic backup, spare cars, and un-crowded circuit hire for a whole day. When you consider the cost of a regular track day, the cost of this Circuit Experience was within proportion given the extra inclusions. Even if it was not a Seven event, having the professional coaching was worth it for me to correct old bad habits and help me find a groove.

From my earlier discussions with David Ridley and from the Caterham Circuit Experience team, some cars have been set up for shipping to the US to kick off the drive experience program to be operated with the assistance of a US motor sporting organization. This is different to what I went through as the drive experience focuses on auto-x style slalom driving around cones. They seem to be looking closely at the New York metro area for now. They are aiming for an announcement in early 2011.

This circuit has a famed and somewhat fearsome reputation in the UK. Host to British Touring Car Championship race, British Superbikes, and the Gold Cup, famously won by Sir Sterling Moss 5 times in the 1950s and 60s.

Why does it have this reputation? A track map really does not do the place justice.  

The track consists of a series of natural undulations and blind crests that flow from working the circuit into the topography. There is a lot of elevation change, steep climbs and drops, compressions, and crests. Making it very difficult is the inconsistent surface grip – some areas are shaded, damp and have wet leaves, painted grid markings and kerbs can be diabolical for grip – so it is difficult to gauge speed. It is a very fast circuit, beautifully designed for a Seven as the car is agile for sudden direction changes and with a relatively soft suspension is able to cope better with the bumps than a heavier car that can struggle to put the power down. It is an incredibly challenging circuit for an old fat race hacker to be launching onto. Oh and should I mention that there is not much run off ….so any off track excursion is going to involve the sound of crash, crump, wallop, swearing and the rustling of a LOT of pound notes being sucked out of your wallet/bank account.

As usual I rented an Caterham Seven R300 SV race car from Jonny Leroux at BookaTrack. 2L Duratec powered with about 180hp, lightened flywheel, 6 speed box, full cage, upgraded 4 pot brakes, and CR500 tires. The race car deletes most options – handbrake, headlights, indicators, brake lights with just a steering wheel and a Stack display. The cars lead a hard life given the hackers who rent them but are very well maintained. If something breaks during the day then there are mechanics on hand to swarm all over the car to fix it quickly to get you back out there. If worst happens and an engine blows then (provided you did not over-rev it) there is a spare to get you back out on the track. I think it is testament to the maintenance and the design of the Duratec that the engines average 250 hours full on track running before they break. I suspect the K series would have been through 4 head gaskets by then.

So the day starts off with sorting out your car in the pits:

Then it is time for the drivers briefing which I have to say was one of the best ever I have experienced for a track day. Concise, focused, all lifted just enough with a hearty dose of English humor.

Fortunately, they had sighting laps before the session opened up. I managed to get in one lap to begin to see where the corners went. This quaint tradition does not seem to happen in the US but you do see some rather remarkable vehicles lurching around the circuit. The look on this van guy’s face is intriguing:

The crowd at a Bookatrack event is really very similar to US trackdays – the average guy with his car ready for a bit of a spin. There are a lot more sevens than we see in the US and far less Corvettes (no shit Sherlock!), a lot less Porsche (only 2 or 3), a couple of Beemers, a Ferrari 360, a lovely Ginetta G60, and one or two Lotus Elises. Oh and they had 2 Radicals to blast the field. There were a couple of small commuter hatchback cars buzzing around – cheap track thrills and why not.

BookaTrack does not crowd its track days – 55 people registered some sharing cars with a max 25 cars on circuit at once. I rarely got held up – worst case took me 1/3rd of the circuit to get past. Passing was done always on the left with point by and no corner passing, although the natural undulations and weaves of the circuit did confuse me as to what actually a “straight” was on the circuit! Quality of driving was excellent except for 1 or 2 cars in a Corporate Experience day. You know the type – you get 3 laps driving a race car for the first time on a circuit for the first time, all the time being dive bombed by other top notch drivers. And to think I was apprehensive! Fortunately, all drivers were courteous, passes acknowledged with a wave and no impatience. I have done a lot of track days and this was as good as it can get for the average non-pro driver like me.

Format for the day is open pit lane. So you have 9.30-12.30, lunch 12.30 to 1.30, then back running again 1.30 to 5pm. I probably did 3-3.5 hours in the day and I was worn out by the end of the day – I think the car was in better condition!

Luckily, I had a friend at the track. Martin (or Mav on Blatchat) is local to the circuit and brought his Roadsport SV for some fun. Now Martin KNOWS how to be prepared for a track day – a BBQ grill, gas stove, electric fridge, tea kettle, coffee maker, lots of cake, marinated chicken, burgers, sugar fixes, drinks, etc. He also managed to bring the usual complement of track day tools. Actually, it may not be Martin’s preparation as Viv (Mrs Mav) also was there and I have a sneaking suspicion she might just be responsible for Martin’s outstanding success.

Here is Martin in gourmet cook mode in his pit garage:

Martin’s Caterham also looks the part:

Martin was kind enough to let me follow in the first “session” foray on to track. This is one place where placing the car on track is an art because of the bumps. It feels a very fast circuit because it is a slightly narrower tarmac plus the car is constantly being thrown around. However, from logging speeds, it is not as I thought! Being responsible and restrained, I satisfied myself with learning the circuit in my usual way – stick it in one gear (5th in this case) and focus on learning lines and braking points.

So some pit photos:

Some track photos now. Just starting to turn into Lodge Corner:

Coming out of Lodge:

Looks like it is in Cascades?

Coming down Dentons just before Cascades corner:

Later on, Martin found me on the track once I had learned the basics and we had a more spirited session. For a 140hp engine, Martin showed how good a Caterham can really be around this track.

Now one of the exciting pieces of machinery on the track was an Aston DBR1 run by a gentleman who had his son out in an Ariel Atom. I suspect it probably was not original as I think these go for $10m or something equally ridiculous plus it looked too fresh for a car that should have a touch of patina.

I had the good luck to range up behind it on track and I slowed down long enough to follow. The owner later said to me it had no grip. Well that was obvious to me as it was all angles going through corners – understeer, oversteer, understeer, oversteer, back and forth working the wheel in one corner, as he piloted it nicely through the corner. Just incredible car control.

I had the good fortune to run into a gentleman testing out VBox Lite equipment on a Caterham in a track environment with a view to renting at future track days. So my car was festooned with cameras and logging equipment from his kit and my usual Gopros/Racechrono logger. Given the hassle of lugging all my kit over to the UK, I think I would just rent it from him next time – much smarter. There was a few technical issues – the circuit was so bumpy it threw the camera aim off. The driver face camera became “Groin Cam” at one point not that there was much too look at given my distraction elsewhere! Then again, had it happened while I was following the Aston Martin....

Another coming over the rise exiting Lodge corner:

Now at the end of every track day we all pack up and go home. How about this for a trailer unit for the Aston Martin DBR1 and the Atom?

Here is some video of the day. First is one of me following Martin (Lotus 7 Club member "Mav" on Blatchat). It gives you a good idea of the layout, elevation changes and above all, how impressive Mav is at pedalling a 140hp Caterham SV around the circuit loaded with him and Mrs Mav. This is not a video for anyone who expects me to be on the ragged edge doing a qualifying lap (after all I want Bookatrack to have me back!).

The second short video comes from when my rent a seven was turned into a test bed for a vbox hire business being started this month. Colin at Video & Data Capture was a top guy to meet and I learned a lot about the finer points of data logging and got some excellent ideas. I really hope his business takes off. Anyway, here I am following an Aston Martin DBR1 (a very authentic and expensive replica) being enthusiastically pedaled. The owner said there was no grip - pretty obvious from some of the steering angles witnessed.

Track day at Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium

In the latest installment of great circuits of the world in a seven, on March 23/24, 2013 I made the trek to the Spa to have a weekend in a Caterham R300 rented from Bookatrack. I have rented this car a few times before having run it at Oulton Park and Silverstone previously.

For those who do not know, Spa-Francorchamps has a long and distinguished history in motor racing. Currently the track is the home of the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix plus the Spa 24 hours and Spa 1000km Endurance Race.

Circuit History (from Wikipedia)

“Designed in 1920 by Jules de Their and Henri Langlois Van Ophem, the original triangle-shaped course used public roads between the Belgian towns of Spa, Malmedy, and Stavelot. The track was intended to have hosted its inaugural race in August 1921, however this event had to be cancelled as there was only one entrant. The first car race was held at the circuit in 1922, and two years later saw the first running of the now famous 24 Hours of Francorchamps race. The circuit was first used for Grand Prix racing in 1925.

The old Spa circuit was essentially a speed course with drivers managing much higher average speeds than on other race tracks, a factor that made Spa very popular from its inception. Back then, the Belgians took pride in having a very fast circuit, and to improve average speeds, the former slow uphill U-turn at the bottom of the Eau Rouge creek valley, called the Ancienne Douane, was cut short with a faster sweep straight up the hill, called the Raidillon. Until 2000, it was possible to travel over the racetrack when it was still a public road. At Eau Rouge, southbound traffic was allowed to use the famous uphill corner, while the opposite downhill traffic had to use the old road and U-turn behind the grand stands, rejoining the racetrack at the bottom of Eau Rouge.

The old racetrack continued through the now-straightened Kemmel curves to the highest part of the track, then went downhill into Les Combes, a fast, slightly banked downhill left-hander towards Burnenville, passing this village in a fast right hand sweep. Near Malmedy, the Masta straight began, which was only interrupted by the fast Masta Kink between farmhouses before arriving at the town of Stavelot. Then the track blasted through an uphill straight section with a few kinks called La Carriere, going through 2 ultra-fast turns (an unnamed right-hand turn and then Blanchimont) before braking very hard for the La Source hairpin, and that rejoined the downhill start finish section as opposed to today where the start-finish section is before La Source.

Spa is located in the Belgian Ardennes countryside, and the old circuit was (and still is) used as everyday public road, and there were houses, trees, electric poles, barnyards, fields and other obstacles located right next to the track. Before 1970, there were no safety modifications of any kind done to the circuit and the conditions of the circuit were, aside from a few straw bales, virtually identical to everyday civilian use. Former Formula One racing driver and team owner Jackie Oliver was quoted as saying "if you went off the road, you didn't know what you were going to hit".

Like the Nürburgring and Le Mans circuits, Spa became notorious for fatal accidents, as there were many deaths each year at the ultra-fast track, especially at the 1960 Belgian Grand Prix where 2 drivers, Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey were both killed within 15 minutes (although Stacey's accident was caused by a bird hitting him in the face) and Stirling Moss had crashed at Burnenville during practice and was severely injured. When Armco crash barriers were added to the track in 1970, deaths became less frequent there but the track was still notorious for other factors. The Ardennes Forest had very unpredictable weather and there were parts where it was raining and the track was wet, and other parts where the sun was shining and the track was completely dry. This factor was a commonality on long circuits, but the weather at Spa was always more unpredictable than other long circuits, combined with the fact that it was an ultra-high speed track with all but 1 corner (La Source) being extremely high speed made it one of, if not the most dangerous race track in the world. Multiple fatalities during the 1973 and 1975 24 Hours of Spa touring car races more or less sealed the old circuit's fate, and by 1978, the last year Spa was in its original form, the only major races held there were the Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hours touring car race; the 1000 km World Sportscar Championship race no longer took place after 1975 and did not come back until 1982.”

“In 1969, the Belgian Grand Prix was boycotted by F1 because of the extreme danger of Spa. There had been 10 racing fatalities in total at the track in the 1960s, including 5 in the 2 years previous. The drivers demanded changes made to Spa, which were not possible on short notice, so the Belgian Grand Prix was dropped that year. Armco was added to the track and sections of it were improved (especially the Stavelot and Holowell sections), just like Armco had been added for the 1969 Le Mans race. One last race there the following year on the improved track was still not satisfactory enough (even after a temporary chicane was added at Malmedy just for that race) for the drivers in terms of safety, and even with the chicane, the drivers averaged 150+ mph (240 km/h) during the race. For the 1971 race, the track owners and authorities had not brought the track up to date with mandatory safety measures, and the race was cancelled. Formula One would not return to Spa until 1983 on the modern track.

Over the years, the Spa course has been modified several times. The track was originally 15 kilometers (9 mi) long, but after World War II, the track had some changes. In 1930 the chicane at Malmedy was eliminated and bypassed, making the course even faster, but the chicane was re-installed in 1935, albeit slightly different. In 1939, "Virage de Ancienne Douane" was eliminated and cut short, thus giving birth to the Eau Rouge/Raidillon uphill sweeping corner. In 1947, the chicane at Malmedy was again eliminated and bypassed, and was made part of the Masta Straight. The slight right-hander that was originally Holowell (the corner before Stavelot after the second Masta Straight) was eliminated. And finally, instead of going through a slight left-hander that went into the town of Stavelot and a sharp right-hander at a road junction in Stavelot, a shortcut was built that became a very fast, very wide right-handed turn that bypassed Stavelot. All these changes made the final configuration of the old Spa circuit 14 km (9 mi) long. All these changes made Spa the fastest open road circuit in the world, and in the final years of the old circuit, drivers could average 150 mph (241 km/h) on the circuit. The biggest change, however, saw the circuit being shortened from 14 km (9 mi) to 7 km (4 mi) in 1979. The start/finish line, which was originally on the downhill straight before Eau Rouge, was moved to the straight before the La Source hairpin in 1981. Like its predecessor the new layout still is a fast and hilly route through the Ardennes where speeds in excess of 330 km/h (205 mph) [Croc edit – not in a Seven!] can be reached. Since inception, the place has been famous for its unpredictable weather. Frequently drivers are confronted with one part of the course being clear and bright while another stretch is rainy and slippery.

The circuit probably demonstrates the importance of driver skill more than any other in the world. This is largely due to the Eau Rouge and Blanchimont corners, both which need to be taken flat out to achieve a fast run onto the straights after them, which aids a driver in both a fast lap and in overtaking.”

Circuit Map

This map does not give justice to the elevation change from the heights of the circuit just after Les Combes from which it is a rapid downhill to Campus (aka Stavelot) and then the level run along the valley through Blanchimont and Pit Straight before rounding La Source and heading steeply downhill again to Eau Rouge and then the steep steep climb up top Raidillon and then the Kemmel Straight.

Travel to Spa

So I fly out from Newark on Thursday night to Brussels for arrival at 7am on Friday. I pick up my trusty rental car from Uranus Hertz (actually not that company but the cost felt that way!), and proceed to head to the exit of the garage. Inching out into a one-way street that was blind from the right where the cars should have been approaching from, I was promptly run over by some dump truck heading up the one-way street the wrong way. Sigh. Luckily the rental car company was watching since I only just left the booth and so after 1.5 hours of waiting to give the police a report and for no cost to me, I was given a nice new diesel Ford minivan to carry on my way. A little over 1.5 hours smooth drive later I was at Hotel La Source. This is a nice new facility located just off the La Source hairpin. During the F1 Grand Prix rooms go for 1000 Euros a night…ouch!

Saturday

So the day dawns overcast with threatening skies – snow flurries were forecast. The temperature is cold (20sF) – rather daunting given that I am a virgin on Spa.

So I rock up to the pits to sign on, get my wristbands and check out my car. It is a Caterham SV R300 spec with the Duratec 2L putting out about 180hp with the Caterham 6 speed gearbox. It runs on 13 inch wheels with Avon CR500s. It is pretty simple – no speedo, the Stack dash is erratic in its warnings, no headlights or indicators or brake lights. As I complete my scan of the car I notice…the car has an S3 chassis sized Tillet. Given my built-for-comfort-not-speed-sized dimensions this is a problem. The car is normally spec’d in advance with a Tillet B2 race shell which is larger for the dimensions of the SV chassis. Oh well… so we borrow some foam from the truck and some duct tape and before you know it I have a nicely comfortable and functional seat.

Bookatrack are in my opinion one of the best track day operators I have ever run with. For Spa it was open pit lane format, passing only on the left (car being passed on the right), and normally with a point by. For Spa given the speed differentials are so great the point by requirement was waived as on Kemmel Straight the Caterham can only pull about 125-130mph (on a good day) whereas some of the cars there (Ferrari F40, Porsche, etc.) could pull close to 200mph. Vigilance was key for the day. Jonny LeRoux has the best driver briefings that I have ever listened to – thorough, comprehensive, and leavened with a healthy dose of humor. Really well done.

So we leave the briefing room and discover….uh oh….its snowing. Never mind, it is time for sighting laps. This is something I have experienced outside the US but never within the US. It is a series of 2-3 laps behind a pace car in any vehicle that is mobile. So I grabbed my trusty Uranus Hertz rental minivan and helmet and went out for some sighting laps:

You know something is wrong when a diesel front wheel drive car is getting huge amounts of oversteer…hmmm.

So then they let us out on track in the snow initially following a pace car with no passing and then after 2 laps the pace car came in and we were live. Here were the pits as I set out:

and Kemmel Straight:

Then it was time to saddle up and see what mischief I could get up to. I sort of knew I was in deep s*&^ over my head when the nice lady controlling our exit onto the track stopped and said “be careful where you see the yellow flags or yellow lights as that is where the ice is on track.” Oh F!@#!!!!!:

In short it was diabolical. The lightweight of a seven just cannot cut through a wet track let alone an icy track to get any grip. Cat on a wet tile floor is the analogy that comes to mind – paws everywhere trying to get control. There was black ice just after the apex on Eau Rouge, ice on the second part of Les Combes, ice on all the apexes and curbing. Opposite lock was standard steering in Les Combes, La Source, Bus Stop, Fagnes, and Campus/Stavelot corners. La Source was interesting as there was a nice little stream running from left to right down to the apex. So you turn into the corner, aquaplane understeer and then the fronts grip again which suddenly kicks the tail out into oversteer. I don’t think I have ever driven in a more treacherous condition on a track.

My strategy was to stay in one piece for the day as I had a second day to look forward to. Also I applied the usual wet weather trick of looking for grip off the racing line, which did work in a few of the corners, but I was painfully slow. By contrast everyone else in a heavy car such as Porsche, BMW, Ginetta, etc. was flying past me. Before I could decide to come in and reassess the state of my underwear, the decision was made for me – a Bookatrack seven found the wall before Campus, which mangled the radiator and ripped the steering race mounts off. Red flag to stop the session.

Then it was back out for 2 laps before contestant number 2 in a Bookatrack rental seven miscued Eau Rouge and backed it into the wall at the top of the hill – fuel tank holed and its mountings ripped off. Red flag for that one.

I checked the state of my car – the ice build up was a problem…hmmmm:

So I decided a tea break was in order. Bookatrack were stars for laying out hot tea, hot soups, and biscuits to warm up. In the pits I found Mav and Paul – from the Lotus 7 Club. Mav had brought his Caterham SV Sigma across from the UK for the two days. The three of us mugging for the camera.

The break was still interesting – there are some very interesting cars to check out:

I did like how the owner of this Swiss Aston Martin kept a steering wheel cover over his wheel to protect it while he slipped and slid his way around the circuit dirtying the exterior of the car:

The star cars were one owner who brought a Ferrari F40 and a Ferrari 275 GTB. I so want one (or both):

 Someone took a video of the two Ferraris on track:

I had the privilege of following the 275GTB on track and it was handling the conditions very well – much better than my seven!

So it was back out again to keep learning the circuit. The weather was not really any better but it was still a fantastic driving challenge. It was not long before another Caterham found the wall after Blanchimont, rotating the rear and going into the left hand wall sideways at what would have been a fairly high speed. The impact was hard enough to bend the deDion tube and punch the suspension up through the rear wing:

One thing to note about the damage, there is a sizable deductible on the rental Caterhams. So if you crash them you pay for the repairs – parts and labor. Encourages a bit of common sense while driving. There were a couple of hot shot pros in Caterham R500s circulating. They were much faster than me but also they all either went off or spun in front of me at least once during the day….somewhat reassuring that they were finding it challenging conditions.

Before the day was out the driver of a formerly-nice looking Mercedes CLS63 AMG coupe decided to redecorate every panel just after La Source corner. He was warned for bad driving earlier and the day was the type of day which did not suffer fools or bad driving. I was told a BMW also kissed a wall and was towed off but I did not see it.

So with all that here is the short video to give you an idea of what it was like. First part is the snow, second part is the slidey moments and the third part is one full lap to give you a flavor of the place. It looks slow because it was! I screwed up the sound (yet again) so music for parts of the video to cover up blank space (I hope you like Frankie!).

Sunday

So I look out the hotel window next morning and SNOW! About 4 inches overnight. So I delay a little and then get in the car to head to the circuit. At the Ster Tunnel under the track I find a 4 car pile up in the tunnel. Ice on the ramps down and up had led to a nice old mess. So I figure on taking the old former circuit road around to the Blanchimont tunnel. It should take 10 minutes – 1 hour later I turn off the main road onto the access road. It was carnage – one van with race car on trailer in a ditch, BMW 3 series into a snow embankment, 3 Porsche 911’s bogged to the belly pan spinning their nice wide slick wheels futilely in the snow, a Lotus Elise scrabbling for grip and then an Aston Martin convertible deciding discretion was the better part of valor by not driving down into the tunnel – the only wise man.

Inside the circuit it was nicely icy. So icy that I could not drive up the ramps to the pits where my gear was so after a few stupid attempts I stop at the base and walk up. This is what the track looked like:

Definitely no driving and I was given back my money for the day – although I am rebooking for later in the year. I am hooked. I have tasted enough of the Spa circuit to know why it is one of the great tracks of the world and know I want another go at it. Just need to find the time to escape work. If I cannot make the Spa dates work in November then I will spend June at possibly Donnington or Anglesey for a weekend. Bookatrack have plenty of R300s for rent. Who wants to come with me?

Back in March this year I made an attempt to run two consecutive days on track at Spa-Francorchamps in a BookaTrack rented Caterham and it did not work out so well as it snowed on the first day and it became an exercise in survival and bring the car home alive. For the second day there were a few more inches of snow that I would have needed an SUV to go around the circuit.

Still, I saw enough of the circuit to understand that it is a special place and worthy of going all out for another try. So last Monday and Tuesday I went back – again with BookaTrack in trusty BAT10, a Caterham R300 race car that I have rented several times before.

Before I turned up at the circuit, I arrived the day before early to allow me to explore the Spa Circuit museum in the Stavelot Abbey, located in a little village about 6 miles from the circuit. While not large, it has a great collection of cars and some very interesting videos of old races.

The track day was being run by BookaTrack. I am firmly of the belief that they run the best track days in the UK and Europe. Great team of friendly people, headed up by Jonny Leroux who gives the best driver briefings of any track day I have ever been on – serious, strict but with a healthy dose of humor to keep you focused. It was an open pit lane format with rules are similar to US track days except (a) passing only on left on straights (b) no point by given the speed differentials between slowest to fastest cars. The Belgians do use a white flag on their circuit. I thought this was reference to them surrendering but it means there is a track vehicle on course picking up debris or giving a flat tow to some disabled car. They do this to avoid shutting down the track which takes a long time given it is 4 miles long.

My faith was confirmed – it was an epic two days. The weather was warm and perfect. The track was in in top shape. It was not very crowded so quality track time. Well behaved participants – no troubles getting past other cars. Casualty rate was low – only 1 incident. My car was perfect.

My car was again BAT 10 – Caterham R300 with a 180hp 2L Duratec, 6 speed box, running 13 inch wheels with CR500s, full cage, no frills. It has the 3.62 diff ratio so in theory should gear out at 120-122mph area in 6th gear at 7000rpm.

Track map:

I said it once before in an earlier post and I will say it again – the circuit is simply one of the top 3 circuits in the world. I much prefer it over Nurburgring as Spa is a more fun drive and still a great driving challenge. To me the sense of history contributes so much to understanding just a fraction what the top F1 pilots of the 60s and 70s went through. The elevation changes contribute so much the character. The only other circuit which comes close in this respect is Mt Panorama Bathurst Australia which also makes my top 3 circuits to drive. Yet I think I prefer Spa as Bathurst can be a little too dangerous with is blind corners and places too much demand on power which a relatively low powered car like a Caterham cannot meet. Spa’s design rewards the momentum driving style that a Caterham can produce. At my lap times I was averaging 90mph per lap (3mins for 4.5m) – no wonder I spent most of my time looking for 7th gear on the long straights (the video shows me doing this all the time). While the Caterham may not have the top end speed of the Porsches, Beemers and the like, I would kill under braking and would maintain a higher average speed through the corners. For a power circuit like Spa the seven does not give anything away. For example there was a Ferrari 430 running around – I hounded him for 3 laps – he would get away on the straights but I would kill him on the corners and curvy bits. Eventually he let me past with a cloud of brake dust. Same for the McLaren and Aston Martins and most of the other road going exotica. For its cost a Seven cannot be beaten in the value performance stakes. The Caterham could pound its way around for 30-40-50 minutes doing consistent lap times and was probably faster, and easier to drive over the time than much of the high powered cars.

We were based in the Endurance Pits this time instead of the Formula 1 Pits. While more crowded it does have the advantage of more character and you can hang on the pit wall watching the cars barrel past into Eau Rouge and up the hill.

There was a very interesting range of cars on display. Low end 125hp Caterhams, to Lotus Eliges and Ginettas, to higher end Porsche 911 derivatives, BMW M3s and then full on race cars like Radicals, Junos and the like. There was a Lola T70 (best sounding car) and a Porsche 962. Tuesday saw a group 4 (I think) De Tomaso Pantera.

The Jagermeister Porsche 962 caused me to ruin my underwear in more ways than one:

That was one way. The other way was on Kemmel Straight, rocking along at all of 115mph at 6800rpm in 6th gear, the Porsche blasted past me at something like 200mph. Being a competitive chap and I had carefully listened to a few knowledgeable people in the pits about the benefits of slipstreaming aero cars, I decided to grab a tow by jumping in behind it. Instantly I was sucked hard and was at 7800rpm and through the rev limiter past the red line before I could blink. The BAT mechanics slapped me silly later and said “don’t do it again” otherwise you will be fined. I had no idea of the aero vacuum that sits behind a group C sports car…wow!

After my March trip, I had a decent idea of where the circuit went and so I just headed on out and promptly looped it at the La Source corner on the first lap…oops! After a few laps I found my feet and just started pounding around to explore the limits carefully.

I had two sessions of instruction included in the car rental with Scott Mansell, a very accomplished race champion.   I am amazed how much I get out of top tier pro drivers when they provide instruction. It may cost a lot but the quality of input is superb. He gave me some quality suggestions on day 1 and by day 2 after some work at them the results were evident and I felt much happier in the way I was driving the circuit.

Some photos to look at – all of these great photos are courtesy of the BAT photographers (who make me better than I really am!).

Here I am exiting Eau Rouge and making the climb up to Radillon. This is the classic scene of Spa with the Endurance pits in the background.

Here is the car hopping the curb at Radillon apex. The pit exit is the lane in the background.

After Radillon you have the gently uphill Kemmel Straight. With a good run out of Radillon I was easily sitting on 6800rpm in top gear (say 115-118mph) well before the braking zone. I usually kept it at 6800rpm since it did not take much to hit the rev limiter at 7000rpm. After Kemmel Straight it is a sharp deceleration in speed for Les Combes, a nicely paced esses series.

At this point you are at the maximum altitude of the circuit where you start the downhill run back to the pits. An illustration of the drop is the next photo of me going through the left hander after Rivage – less than a mile beyond Les Combes but a lot lower - photo was taken up near Kemmel Straight.

At this point you start picking up real speed, winding your way down before reaching the high speed Blanchimont area. This culminates in the Bus Stop – a very slow esses complex just before the main straight and the F1 pits.

After the F1 pits you have the very sharp right hander called La Source. For some reason lots of cars get out of shape on this corner?

The bad (missed the apex by 12 feet, opposite lock is on and the damn photographer found me!)

The Good

Here video of the first session Tuesday when I managed to get the logger to work (its in 1080 60fps – select the cog wheel to get higher res). The GPS signals were erratic due to the terrain and trees so there is jumpiness to the speeds and map from time to time. At 12m20 you start to see a black Caterham in the rear camera and then the front camera hanging the tail out. When you are Jonny and run BaT you can have a bit of fun from time to time. His car control is immense and you will hear me laughing aloud as he hams it up on track. Brilliant stuff! He does also hold the outright Caterham race lap record around Spa at 2m45.46 in a Caterham R300 so he is one guy I want to follow on track to learn. By contrast I only got to a best lap time of 2m57 in my last session (with no traffic) – just need to find another 12 seconds!

The second video screwed up the video sound but was my last session. You can see me halfway through finally summon the courage/skill to take Blanchimont corner flat out without lifting at 105-110mph (F1 cars do it at 200mph!).

I had such a blast I am trying to work out when I can get back to do it all again! Forget your retirement savings, college funds, dresses and jewelry for the other half, come on out and live. Life is too short to miss experiences like this.

In the latest installment of me exploring different circuits in a Caterham, last week saw me in France for track days at Magny-Cours and Dijon-Prenois in a Caterham R300 with Bookatrack. I try to do a few of these events each year to sample different circuits. While Magny-Cours was a bonus, I really wanted to try out Dijon given its history.

The rental Caterham is similar to the one I have used in the past – R300 race car. Full cage, no road gear, standard 2L Duratec with 6 speed gearbox and CR500 tires. There is a fine process for damage – over revs $100 per 100rpm over 6800rpm, fine for putting it in gravel and of course find the wall you are repairing it. Other than that it is fully maintained and supplied with fuel. The car had 291 track miles on the engine before I got my hands on it and the gearbox was showing signs of needing a rebuild as it was baulking into 3^rd which is the classic early warning for the synchros on a Caterham 6 speed box. Its perfect for exploring these tracks in a fun way.

Magny Cours

Located in central France in the Burgundy wine district roughly 160 miles from Paris.

Quote

It was built in 1960 by Jean Bernigaud and was home to the prestigious Winfield racing school (École de Pilotage Winfield), which produced drivers such as François Cevert and Jacques Laffite. However, in the 1980s the track fell into disrepair and was not used for international motor racing until it was purchased by the Regional Conseil de la Nièvre. In the 1990s the Ligier (and, after Ligier was bought, Prost) Formula One team was based at the circuit and did much of its testing at Magny-Cours. It had hosted the French Formula One Grand Prix from 1991 to 2008.

To me it’s the type of circuit which has had its original essence tinkered with to manage Formula 1 races to avoid them being boring and as a result they became boring. The map bears that out as it feels like a sprint between a series of tight hairpins. One thing is clear, make a mistake and you will be getting towed out of a gravel pit!

For all that it was a good fun circuit to play on for a day. Some photos:

At Adelaide hairpin:

Weaving through Nurburgring chicane:

Turning into Chateau d'eau

Some track video to give you an idea of the circuit

Dijon-Prenois

This is what I really came for. After we had finished the day at Magny-Cours most people had to drive the 3 hours cross-country through rural France to Dijon for the night. So began an entertaining drive along some scenic country roads avoiding cows, deer, tractors, 2CVs and generally anything that was hostile to me driving a German-plated rental car.

Quote

Dijon-Prenois is a 3.801 km (2.362 mi) motor racing circuit located in Prenois, near Dijon, France. The undulating track is noted for its fast, sweeping bends. Opened in 1972, Dijon-Prenois hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix five times, and the Swiss Grand Prix in 1982. The non-championship 1975 Swiss Grand Prix was also held at Dijon.

Of course the Swiss GP was held there as the Swiss Government banned all motor racing in the wake of the 1955 Le Mans tragedy.

The map really does not covey the terrain changes here – some of the most extreme I have experienced after Spa-Francorchamps and Mt Panorama. The track sets up some significant G forces as you weave your way around it. It is also one track where it seems like every corner wants to trick you in to turning in early – late turn in is required on nearly every corner.

Why did I want to experience Dijon circuit? Well it was because of this race back in 1979:

Probably one of the most incredible finishes with the scrap for 2^nd place by Giles Villeneuve and Rene Arnoux.

The track flows well, it responded well to using just 4^th and 5^th gears and it encourages bravery in order to be fast. I was conscious that bravery would mean that if you goofed then you would find the gravel pits very quickly.

One surprise was the surface when it got wet – a brief shower was all it took for the surface to suddenly have no grip. The transition point of grip was extremely sudden – one corner you would be good but by the next you would be screwed.

Some photos:

In the Parabolique:

Exiting the Parabolique:

Just before the Parabolique:

Some track video to give you a taste of the circuit. Like all videos it really does not show the level of vertical terrain change although it does show how I am being thrown around from the cornering forces.

So was it worth it? You bet! Dijon is one of those little gems of a circuit which just suits a seven so well. After lunch I had one session where I did 40 laps in a row just hammering happily around the circuit. I would go back in an instant.

Next up is Spain in September to visit Barcelona and Valencia circuits.

Caterham Track Day at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit

Continuing on my bucket list journey to try all the tasty great race tracks in UK and Europe, I was at Brands Hatch this week with a Caterham from my friends at BookaTrack UK.

It has a great history, holding the British GP between 1964 and 1986. I was running the shorter Indy Circuit given it was mid-week and noise restrictions are a major hassle at this circuit now. So the GP circuit was off-limits.

I was not concerned as this is a brilliant little circuit – flows beautifully with great elevation change. It is probably the best circuit designed for a Caterham that I have ever been on.

The photos do not really show the elevation. Below is in the foreground the turn into Paddock bend, then into the dip and up the hill to the 180 degree Druids corner

Then it is down the hill into Graham Hill bend

Before sweeping left into Cooper Straight and left into Surtees

Then sweep right into McLaren where you brake before setting the car up for the sweeping right Clearways (around where the vacuum truck in the below photo).

Clearways is the critical corner as the earlier you are on the power gives you the best run long the “straight”.

I had the Caterham 310R. I had driven this at Silverstone and Donington this year. It has the 1.6L Ford Sigma engine – so around 150hp. Black pack. Aeroscreen. 13” Apollo wheels with Avon ZZRs. Great little package. Works well at all but power circuits.

Brands Hatch was nippy. Morning was 35 degrees F when I arrived and frost everywhere. Needless to say that is tricky for Caterhams. And so it showed by one Caterham spearing off on Graham Hill bend on the sighting laps. Even I found the car pushing at 35mph in that bend. Another Caterham triggered the red flag on lap 1 by nosing into the tire wall because it understeered off on the frost.

On the restart, technically lap 2, the silver Caterham in the photo above (same one I had at Sp-Francorchamps in March 2018) lost it out of Clearways by excess throttle and spun along pit wall denting every corner - luckily pretty much cosmetic.   So up to 11am I tiptoed around the wet patches, letting all the heavy cars past - Ginettas, Ford Focus (Foci?), etc. - as their weight gives a more consistent contact patch cutting through the surface frost/damp. But after 11am there was enough warmth and grip for the equation to reverse and the Caterhams to once again be ascendant. Temps topped out at around 50 degF.

The nice thing about the track is that you did not need a high hp car to be quick. Its tight layout compressed the hp differential between cars. There are no stop start types of corners and so the flow helps the lower hp cars while being tight enough to restrict the high hp cars. Now if you opened up to the GP layout then that long straight turns into a high hp track. But I was very happy on the short Indy circuit. The only other circuit that I can think has this characteristic is Cadwell Park. Even Oulton Park has too many straights.

Noise at the circuit for the day was 98db. It was tested in the pits before joining the circuit (static test 98db at 4000rpm) plus a drive by limit on the circuit at 98db.

You got one warning for noise and then you were expected to fix it. Second time you were booted from the circuit.

So how was the driving? Brilliant. Perfect for a seven. It’s a 3^rd and 4^th gear only circuit although you could go down to 2^nd for Druids for a marginal benefit if you needed a little extra time.

For video we have two options:

360degree video (with lots of wind noise) is linked below. You can click and drag the video around to look forward, behind or sideways.

For the conventional look forward camera with some engine sounds, this is below:

Despite Brands Hatch being likely to be my most epically expensive track day ever (as I bought a Caterham to keep in the UK - oops!), I am committing to going back to Spa-Francorchamps next March. Should be fun.

The latest installment in my quest to drive the great tracks of UK and Europe. This time was the Brands Hatch GP circuit. Last October I had tried the shorter Brands Hatch Indy circuit on a track day and thought it was promising. That was nothing - the GP circuit is sensational fun.

Unfortunately, some numpty developer created a whole village of idiots next to the Brands Circuit. As a result, use of the GP circuit is quite limited and heavily noise restricted - 95db for my day. But when you get the opportunity you take it.

The full GP circuit is the same as the one followed by F1 before it ceased using Brands Hatch and migrated to Silverstone for safety reasons.

The track map and video just do not convey how much elevation change happens on this circuit. The video flattens things out tremendously. It also does not convey the bumpiness of the circuit. I was destroyed by the end of the day - lots of bruising next day.

However, I don't care - it is epic!  Its an old school style of track. It forces you to think. It requires a big brassy set hanging between the legs. It requires bravery. It challenges better than nearly everything except Spa, Mt Panorama, or Nurburgring. Definitely high on the must try ticket.

This is probably the worst track for the Mazda 5 speed gearbox that comes with the current version of the Caterhams. Its a 3-4 gear track only. Only use 1-2 entering or leaving pits. No need for 5th gear. IF there was ever a case for a 6th gear box, it comes on this track.

So here is the track video. Makes it look slow. So consider the elevation meter. Look at how my hands work the wheel. See how much I physically move around in the car from the bumps.

September sees me at Angelsey. October sees me hopefully back at Donington and for my first time at Cadwell Park. Who wants to join me?

Links

TFL Racing

https://www.tflracing.co.uk/

A nicely paced week of starting in Lisbon to drive the Estoril Circuit followed by a 3 hour drive south to the Algarve region of Portugal to try out the Portimao Circuit. Then it was another 3 hour drive south east to Jerez in Spain for the Jerez Circuit.

This trip I rented a Caterham 620R SV. 310hp Rotrex supercharged Duratec with the Sadev 6 speed sequential. Here is the trusty beastie:

Bookatrack makes an annual Europe trip. 2015 for me was France. 2016 was Eastern Europe. Next year maybe Italy if the dates work? They run the best track days of any operator. Disciplined while still allowing a level of flow. All passing is on the left with point by. Passing in corner is acceptable by consent (i.e. point by).

There are a range of cars on this trip – probably 50% Caterhams, quite a few Porkers, Eliges, and Evora plus this trip a couple of Audi R8s and a couple of RX8s. All have driven track days before even if they have never driven the circuits we are visiting on this trip.

The accommodation package is an optional add on but worth it. Quality hotels in prime locations. A group dinner drink night at the beginning and end are included. This helps you meet people and makes the whole trip very social. In the evening after a hard days driving you could always enjoy a drink on the hotel terrace with members of the group before migrating into dinner.

Estoril Circuit is in the outer suburbs of north west of Lisbon near the seaside resort town of Cascais. It was the home of the Portuguese Formula Grand Prix from 1984 to 1995.

It’s a fairly free-flowing circuit although the track map makes clear that various kinks and chicanes were added over time to slow the F1 cars down for safety.

Its setting is in a valley bowl which allows plenty of elevation change. Here is looking towards the mountains where Sintra is located:

The downside of those mountains is the wind. The day I was there it was howling through. The car was quite active in being blown around down the main straight at high speed.

Being an ex-Formula 1 circuit, it is wide, long straights and very fast.  But as the cars got faster they introduced slow-down measures.  So the track flows for the most part there are the odd-extra slow sections.   Here is one of the slow down measures implemented – a Z turn, which was so tight as to be absurd. But it worked – I was slow there.

The 620R was fast, as you would expect. Plenty of grip from the 13 inch Avon ZZRs although it was very easy to break the tires loose coming out of the corners. The torque effect on the wheels as the supercharger spools up did not assist the task of minimizing wheel spin while trying to put the power down.

The Sadev sequential is pretty easy to use. Lift the lockout ring on the gear stick and pop back to get into first. Let go the clutch and you are away. Then just hammer it up the revs and drag the gear lever back for next gear and on you go. Going down the gears is just the reverse – pop the lever forward. No clutch needed. The electronic gubbins cut the revs and allow the next gear to slot home. The only downside was the race clutch. On/Off in nature it was difficult to get away smoothly. I solved the problem by just getting 4000rpm and just dropping the clutch.

Here is some video of an afternoon session to give you a taste of what the circuit is like. The sound is just as it was – supercharger whine and all.

And it was during my day at Estoril that I discovered an unfortunate side effect of a Caterham 620R….heat. The chassis tubes transfer so much heat that my racing boot heels started to melt. Breaking out the trusty duct tape worked on a session-by-session basis but you had to keep reapplying as it melted each 30-40 min session. At Jerez where it was a stinking hot day – call it close 100 degrees F – then even the ball of the foot sole area started to melt. Trust me you feel it on the soles of your feet

Then it was off to Portimao in the Algarve region of Portugal.

I picked up my trusty rental from ‘Uranus Hertz’ for this trip and this time it was a beast…worth killing. It had a 1 point something 4-cylinder piece of shit engine. Six speed gearbox – I am sure they were labeled slow, slower, quite slow, really slow, effing slow… It had 7 seats but I doubt the engine could have got it rolling with 7 average people inside.

But…somehow…I managed to see [censored]kmh on a downhill motorway stretch in some country with the engine ferrets screaming their lungs out with my foot mashed through the firewall and out by a headlight. So technically it was not slow but it took several hours to build up to that speed.

Portimao Circuit was built in 2008 for nearly US$250 million and it shows. The circuit is impressive. Big money has clearly been spent even since then. Big grandstands. Impressive viewing areas. Decorative ponds outside the cafeteria. There were even sensors under the curbing to monitor when you exceeded track limits and crossed onto the curbs – something I am badly guilty on all tracks (as the video shows).

The track is used for Superbikes. It has hosted Le Mans cars and a test session for Formula 1.

The track map really does not reveal the essence of this circuit – it has elevation.

Its very old school in feel – blind corners, rollercoaster nature, very fast and unforgiving. It is an intimidating track – one of my top 2 challenge tracks. There are corners where you are committing to corners without knowing what’s in front of you and without being able to actually see the apex or track out. It requires big balls for bravery in key corners and a lot of active thinking to avoid the mind games the circuit plays on it. This is one of the great new circuits of recent times. This is one circuit I need to go back to.

The elevation change is the key to Portimao. The video flattens out the true elevation feel but look at the altimeter height changes to get a sense of how quickly you are changing elevation. High speed understeer was a real issue on many corners. The last corner coming onto the straight was particularly bad as you popped over a “ledge” the car dropped and the front just scrubbed away from you. You had to ride through it until the grip returned then you could apply power otherwise you just understeer off into the gravel if you apply power too early. It was one hell of a ballsy corner.

Apologies in advance of this video. The GoPro audio adapter for the external mic broke and so sound comes and goes with static crackles in between.

So then it was on to the last circuit – Jerez in Spain. Built in the mid-1980s it has hosted the Spanish Grand Prix in the 1990s plus host to touring cars, Le Mans prototypes and MotoGP.

This is an unusual circuit. Not as much elevation change as Estoril or Portimao. Its specialty is head games – the corners trick you visually so that you need to be on your game. I thought it was ok but it was the third best of three superb circuits this trip.

It was a stinking hot day. I went through 8 liters of water while at the track and needed more to properly rehydrate. This was the circuit where I started melting the shoe soles over the ball of my feet.

The tires were all slimy too – I had to be extra careful given the grip was compromised.

Now there are some very fast drivers on Bookatrack track days but their ‘gung-ho’ style often comes back to haunt them with unfortunate incidents. Jerez brought out the worst of these.

So Hotshot Shane is coming up behind me rapidly. I am on my first lap out for the session and I see him coming. I was timing to let him past next corner however I never had too. The video shows what happens if you go into a fast sweeper too fast.

1. The rear steps out

2. Our erstwhile driver counter steers to offset the rear

3. He comes off the power to get the car rear end back under control

4. Weight transfers to the front very very quickly

5. Weight applied onto front tires with a ton of lock applied suddenly grip and the car shears in the direction you are trying to avoid going

6. It’s all over very quickly.

But in many European circuits you have gravel traps to slow you down. These are not good as you get bogged down and have to be towed out. Gravel can get into belts and dislodge them or truly upset the timing creating a very expensive engine problem. More concerning, if you go into a gravel trap spinning then a wheel or two can dig in and you are rolling at that point.

The video has second class sound thanks to me having to bodge a microphone and mix it in separately as a result of my equipment breakage in Portimao. Still it gives you an idea of the circuit.

So who is joining me next year? Next years schedule is not on the Bookatrack website yet but there is hope that the dates will work for Italy as they plan next years events.

For those that have never been to Budapest, you are missing one of the great cities of Europe. Lots to see and do and very reasonably priced.

Naturally I sampled the local brews in my favorite cafe by the Danube watching the world go by!

Brno Circuit, Czech Republic

There was a famed Brno Circuit. But like the other great tracks of Europe – Spa-Francorchamps, Le Mans, Pau, even Nürburgring, it has changed dramatically over time. The original 19 mile circuit was discontinued and a move was made to purpose built facility nestled in the hillside and valleys on the outskirts of Brno city in 1987. I drove some of the original 1930s track, as it is now the access roads to the current circuit. Even some of the original pit buildings remain present on the sides of the road.

The track is known for hosting MotoGP bikes, Formula 3 Euro Series, DTM, FIA World Touring Car, Superbike World Championship, and FIA GT1 World Championship.

Sadly the weather forecast was not encouraging. The day was cold, high 30sF, overcast with rain forecast late in the day.

In Fall with the leaves changing color it is a magnificent setting

The track map shows a fairly lengthy track nothing special in layout.

But, the story of Brno circuit is all about elevation change. It may be hard to read the following graph but there is close to 250 feet (75m) of elevation change in the track from top to bottom. You start up high, wind your way down to the lowest point and then it is a very steep climb back up to the start finish line.

This photo illustrates the elevation. This is me about half way down the circuit and in the distance, lower, continues the circuit and it is not even the end of the elevation drop.

Yes I know I missed the apex Tom (as some of my "friends" on here will be quick to point out!) - with so much water on the apex you had more grip hold the car well out from the apex.

The trusty rental Caterhams all lined up. The R300 have orange stripes and the 620R are red stripe.

I did enjoy how the Bookatrack photographer lined up the cars at opposite angle to pit exit!

My trusty R300 for my days on track is here. A standard SV chassis with de Dion rear end. 2L Duratec making 180hp. Redline is 6800-7000 but I usually change at 6500 for sympathy. No frills race car – no lights, indicators, extra gauges, or heater/blower unit. It is usually set up with fiberglass Tillet shells, although I use a foam seat arrangement when I run this car. Its nice to see Bookatrack gave her a shiny new coat of black paint and orange stripes since I last used it.

A bit about Bookatrack. I have been running with Bookatrack for 5 years now at various UK and European circuits, always running Caterham R300s. Jonny Leroux, with his wife Sarah, run the best track days of any operator I have run with. Handy with the wheel himself, I think he still holds the lap record at Spa-Francorchamps in a Caterham R300 – the video is on YouTube somewhere. But Jonny’s best skill is building a group of loyal repeat customers who are just all welcoming and friendly to anyone that joins one of his track days or annual Europe trip like this one. The laughs are frequent around these days – no egos. I have tried a bunch of UK/European track day operators over the years – Bookatrack are the only ones I will run with now. Even if you never run a Bookatrack track day, Jonny is a passionate Caterham supporter and in the last year opened Caterham Midlands, based at Donington Circuit in the UK - worth a look if you are in the Midlands of the UK.

The format of the track day is open pit lane. The track breaks for lunch for an hour but you can guarantee 7 hours of open track time. I would average about 3 hours on track in a day with lengthy breaks in between to keep the car and myself fresh. You do not lack for quality track time. Someone told me there were 30 cars but apart from the first 30 minutes there was never anything close to this out on track at once. You really did have quality time on the circuit.

So some photos courtesy of Bookatrack. One feature of a Bookatrack track day is their practice of 2-3 sighting laps for people new to the circuit to get a basic familiarity before you go out and plant the size 11s to the floor. So I took out my Avis RentaCar, who for once gave me an upgrade to a nice Mercedes…. low powered diesel…sigh…

Some pit photos

Sadly it rained in Brno.

Because of the rain I did not make a full video of the circuit but a series of slow laps in persistent rain that just accumulated around the circuit. The shiny bits of the track in this video are standing water or drainage channels across the track. Yes it really was that wet.

I gave the day away after I had a bad aquaplane coming out of turn 1 which I saved and then further down the circuit at turn 11 I aquaplaned again through the braking zone, skated across the gravel trap and somehow managed to haul it up on the grass next to the fence without doing any damage other than tasting seat fabric at the back of my mouth from a big buttock clench. As I am out of the car in the pits after this, I hear of two other Caterhams that had major oops moments from aquaplaning at turn 2. Seemed a perfect time to call it a day.

I think I will be back. I want to try the track in the dry. I have seen enough to know it will be a fantastic drive when the conditions are more favorable.

Slovakia Ring

I will be upfront and admit, I thought this track would be a bust before I even turned a wheel. On paper it did not inspire me. It looked like a classic case of how many corners can you fit into a flat field. Everyone I talked to in the group said the same view and we all changed our minds once we drove it.

What an interesting circuit. It was quick. I was at redline in 6^th gear at four points in the circuit. But in between those fast bits were some very slow bits. So that led to the surprise on how much fuel a Caterham could consume. The fuel guys were run ragged keeping up.

Some photos courtesy of Bookatrack:

I was caught here waiting in the pits to head out for first session of the day.

An illustration of the confusing layout is in this photo. Besides the track I am driving on there are another 3 elements of the track hiding in the background as it loops back on itself again and again.

The track was hard on cars. Here is Roger, a former Chairman of the Lotus 7 Club of the UK, showing us how to fix a rear end on his absolutely gorgeous Vauxhall powered car. I never realized how nice a Vauxhall engine could sound until I heard this one.

Another former Chairman of the Lotus 7 Club (who I will keep nameless to avoid embarrassment) had engine problems which stopped him on the circuit. His K-series R500 had decided to lunch itself at 8600rpm. Scrutiny of the damage in the pits was instructive – it had rods out both sides of the block with clear open holes. Never seen that done double before. In fairness it was said to be well overdue for its refresh schedule of every 3000 track miles or 10000 road miles so the owner was not overly surprised.

Here is a video. I decided to use the regular roll bar clamp with the go pro plastic mount. Bad move – I should have known better as they vibrate at speed and get the jello wobbles. Still it should give you the right idea of the track.

Hungaroring

The last of the circuits we were doing. First constructed in 1986, it is the home of the Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix; it has a reputation as a drivers track. It also has a reputation of being tricky in the rain.

It is situated in a valley so 80% can be seen from any point, which makes it great for spectators. This is the sequence of turns 2 and 3 and in the background turns 4/5 probably my favorite part of the circuit.

Here is the third and second last corners before the main straight.

A word here on the cars participating. Nearly all were UK based. Jonny has a couple of tractor-trailer units for the rental cars. He also arranged a few extra trucks to pick up other owner cars (spare wheels and tires) and truck them all to the circuits. So owners could all fly in knowing that their cars would be delivered. He then set up shuttle buses for those not wanting to rent a car so you could be picked up the airport, shuttled to the group hotel and on to the next circuit and so on. A very smooth way of making the entire trip work. The cars were mostly Caterhams. Many R500s, a few 620R, and a couple of R300 (ex-Bookatrack cars now in private ownership). There was a Noble, a Porsche, a track modified Miata, a Lotus Exige, and a Hayabusa Radical. There was even a Lotus Evora whose owner drove it across from the UK to participate.

Hungaroring surprised me by being perfect for an R300. You only really ran out of revs about half to two-thirds of the way down the main straight. That said the 620s were running 155-158mph down the straight whereas I topped out at around 117-118mph in the R300. The R500s were doing around 145-147mph. Its a loooong straight.

When you hire a Caterham through Bookatrack on these types of track days 1 hour of professional instruction is included – 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon. The instructors are UK based so they were seeing the circuits for the first time along with the customers. What I found most interesting was talking through the circuit and their analysis process and how they modified the recommended lines over the course of the morning. You really got to hear and see how a pro works their way into a new circuit to drive it quick.

The track was a blast. I loved it. I would very happily go back again. It really is well suited to a seven.

Here is a video to give you an idea. Forgive me but I was incompetent. I switched the forward camera to the Sony and it was vibrating at speed because it was not facing square to the front but was instead angled. So it was buffeted by wind and more susceptible to the usual vibrations of these cars to produce the jello effect. The rattle of the mic is from me not securing it properly in its correct location.

So I have blocked out the calendar for early October 2017 to go back to Europe with Bookatrack. Who wants to join me? You can rent your own Caterham or go share with someone to split the cost. You get to arrive and drive a fully supported, all costs included Caterham on some of the best tracks in the world and enjoy very social dinners with a group of like-minded individuals. Its my idea of a fun driving vacation.

If you need more temptation then maybe read the posts on my earlier trips with Bookatrack to Spa-Francorchamps, Magny-Cours/Dijon, Oulton Park, Donington/Anglesey.

In the latest installment of doing UK/European track days in a Caterham, this time we are at Anglesey, Wales. It is way oop northern end of Wales – a 5+ hour drive from Heathrow airport. You can get closer by flying from the USA into Manchester but I have had enough of third world airports this year. Ideally you would double head this event with an Oulton Park Day – about 2 hours away. Anglesey is only 70 something miles from Ireland across the Irish Sea. This location on the Irish Sea presents problems and opportunities. Opportunities, as this is one of the most scenic circuits on earth perched on top of the cliffs above the crashing ocean. Problems, because of that ocean, winds can be sweeping across the track at gale force and it is highly likely it will rain while you are there.

Naturally, I was rolling eyes the day before my event when I discovered it was perfect sun, no wind as I knew then that I was going to have a crap weather day the following day…guaranteed.

Anyway, I was last at this circuit in 2014 running a rental R300 race car.   This time would be with more hp with a 420R under my seat.

For an overview of the circuit we have the map:

There are two basic circuit configurations – International GP with the second long hairpin and Coastal which cuts that phallic portion of the circuit out and introduces the corkscrew to connect the hill to pit straight.

In case you wonder why I come this far for a circuit? Its exciting. No other circuit puts as much G forces on my body. By the end of the day my neck hurt, I had bruising from the side bolters of the seat, my fingers hurt from throwing the car into corners. And for all that it is not a very fast track in average speed. Its also very pretty around the Anglesey peninsula.

We ran International in the morning and then Coastal in the afternoon to give some variety.

The day before my event there was a Plop Race going on. This name, more commonly associated with the short sharp sound of a fresh log playfully slapping at water in a toilet bowl, was actually referring to a completely different kind of shit in that it was scooter endurance racing. Yes! Who knew that 8 hours of 50cc racing could be so exciting. I pissed myself laughing at the crashes, the collisions and the “I am unable to avoid the tire wall” moments on the circuit with the most run off of any circuit out there. The rules are simple – you must use the correct engine with its limited displacement. No mods of brakes or chassis allowed. Fairing/bodywork is free to modify in that you can remove it or run it. Streamlining is not allowed. Engine is free to modify but folks, keep in mind that if you give a 50cc engine a compression of 7 then it will not last one lap of the circuit let alone 8 hours. There is no point being the fastest on the warm-up laps. One team in the pits I chatted with had burned through 5 engines by 3pm. He hoped they would finish as he had no more engines…oops!

So with that in mind, my track overview photos will include many examples of “plops” on the track.

Turn 1 after the start line is a fast left hander. Tight entry but opens up nicely on exit with a good run possible into turn 2 – just watch the cars exiting the pits here.

First photo is of the “The Banking” i.e. a banked turn 2. Background is the Irish Sea and the mountains of Snowdonia (BTW very good twisty roads in there on your way to and from Anglesey).

Banking is probably only 5 degrees – nowhere near as extreme as the 15 degrees on Lightning Circuit at NJMP.

Fairly simple – late turn in, apex 2/3rds of the way around, power out.

Then you have a straight heading down towards Church which sweeps right in a curving straight.

It looks tighter than it is. You need a full lift of throttle or light dab touch of brakes to get the car to turn in but then its back on full power, accepting that there will be some front end drift/understeer as you track out.

So why do they call it Church? Well, if I faced 180 degrees and looked out with my back to the circuit then you see this:

The Church is only accessible by foot at high tide or anytime by Shane in his Stalker.

Back to the circuit, out of Church, the track curves right. Keep the foot mashed through here.

And up the hill to Rocket corner

Now Rocket corner hides a secret, seen in the next photo. Hidden, just over the crest, is a second gear tight left turn.

Those skid marks in the braking zone tell the “oh shit” moments of quite a few drivers (or riders).

Assuming you get through Rocket then you have an almost immediate right tight hairpin corner, seen in the following:

Then you exit the hairpin and prepare for one of the best corners on the track, Peel.

Peel is iconic because it is a fun corner and the views are epic. It’s a tight right entry but once committed it opens up on exit, just like the view. Most drivers hold tight to the right fearing the lefthander below the crest, but that is just optical, plenty of time to exit Peel properly out left and then come back right in readiness for the next lefthander, Seaman’s, out of sight down the hill.

The Seaman’s corner is critical because it is where the track divides from International layout or Coastal layout. If International then it is a slightly off camber brake and dive to the apex then favorable camber as you put the power down on track out.

If it is Coastal circuit then you hold left for the instant right into Corkscrew then try to hold to the center or right to be ready to turn left onto the main straight. The photo below shows the confusion – the track is the right most tarmac. The left side tarmac corner is actually pit entry. More than one ended up in the pits by mistake.

If we are continuing onto the International Circuit then we proceed along the Tom Pryce straight to The Hairpin. Naturally it is a hairpin.

Then blast back along the straight to the last corner before the pit straight/start/finish line – The Bus Stop. Its tight and slow – second gear. There is a patch of tarmac around the apex out to the middle of the track – this makes it off camber and tricky. Very easy to rotate the car here if power is put down aggressively. Also easy to rotate the car left into the pit wall.

As always, my trusty steed was my 420R

Naturally, my weather was a light drizzle in the morning to wake me up, “sea mist” was the affectionate name by the locals, followed by dreary gray overcast skies, eventually turning into rain at around 4pm. The locals said it was “quite a nice day.”

Needless the say the drizzle in the initial session led to lots of spins, me included, before I at least managed to get my act together.

Loved this Exige

This type of curb does not do good things to the inside front suspension....wheel is a little airborne.

The BAC Mono was incredibly quick but the two this day were plagued with electrical gremlins.

The license plate of this R400 has a backstory. The owner chose "DCP" in the plate as it referred to the lurid pink metallic of his car. So what does DCP stand for? Dog Cock Pink. Truth in advertising I suppose....

The beauty of Anglesey is the view over the Irish Sea at various points around the circuit.

Video shows the afternoon sessions on the Coastal Circuit using the corkscrew to come onto the pit straight. First 5min34 mins are clean laps. At 5min35 I am wearing a bee on the camera as I play tag and hang onto the back of a Caterham 620R. I was 210hp. He was 309hp. He would just disappear away from me on the straights but I would claw back by being brave elsewhere.

Links

TFL Racing

https://www.tflracing.co.uk/

Forum member Steve @Blokko and I enjoyed a track day at Anglesey Circuit, way up north in Wales.  Anglesey is a small club circuit in the far north of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea.  The views from the circuit are simply staggering.

Weather was great, highly unusual for this part of Wales, and there were only about 30 cars on track - all behaving well.   

So both of us got a lot of track time in on this brilliant circuit where we played tag with each other. 

Steve had his share of mechanical issues with the expansion bottle top losing pressure and because his tires lost grip once they reached a certain temperature - understeering out of Church at 90mph was 'interesting' to quote him!

Entertainingly, for others, I had a moment with an instructor on board early in the day.  Steve was on hand to witness it:

"So I decide to sneakily follow Mike out on track for his instructor session so that I could pick up his lines. We joined the circuit at The Banking hairpin, then it’s a short straight into Church - which is a long 90 degree right hander that you can carry a lot of speed through. The next ‘proper’ corner is Rocket, but between Church and Rocket the tarmac is never actually straight – a gentle right hand curve that sharpens a bit just at the point where you might want to think about hitting the anchors. At this stage (when I got things right) I was approaching the sharp left hander of Rocket at 110. Braking here is helped by the fact that there is a steep incline on the approach to Rocket, which enables you to scrub a lot of the speed that has built up.

Except on this first lap Mike didn’t manage to scrub enough speed and he watched the apex fly by as he headed towards the infield. Fortunately he managed to make the turn before running out of tarmac – thus saving the embarrassment of going grass cutting with an instructor on board."

Photos:

Steve (Blokko) looking concerned when talking with me (back of head)!

Steve following me in his K-series engine Caterham Roadsport SV

Anglesey GP Circuit

And an experiment at Anglesey to run a camera low down on the front wishbone/A arm. Apart from sound I thought this was a good position

Given I arrived off a US flight early in the morning I stopped in first at the Heritage Motor Museum at Gaydon UK, about 1.5 hours drive from Heathrow. It celebrates the British motor industry which had extraordinary success until brought down by poor management, weak Governments and labor unions in the 1970s. The facility is superb with extensive sponsorship by Jaguar and Land Rover. If you want you can take a Land Rover or Range Rover on an off road test drive in a purpose built 4wd trail on the property. I had a great time testing a LR3!

In the museum, there is a spectacular collection of cars:

An original Jaguar XJ13 with its dashboard

Who remembers Bob Tulius?

Then it was cross country to Donington. The circuit maintains a museum which has the greatest collection of Formula 1 cars anywhere on Earth. I can only say they may be under estimating. I left a trail of drool, dribble, sweat, tears, pee and sperm all over this museum….absolutely amazing.

You may want to hurry to see this collection. Tom Wheatcroft, who bought the circuit and established the museum passed away in 2009 and left his estate to his son who seems to be actively selling cars off to buy WW2 tanks

So then it was on to the track day run by BookaTrack. Normally very tightly organized, given it was the Friday before a weekend of racing, it really turned into a practice session for the racers.

The track:

We were running the National Circuit without the hairpin extension.

There were a range of cars – Radicals with RST V8s, BAC Monos, high powered Caterhams and Westfields, tin top touring cars, an absolutely amazing yellow Ruf Porsche 911, to hackers like me in a beaten up Caterham R300.

Rules are passing on the “straights” only on the left, ideally with a point by. However, that degenerated rapidly as the red mist descended. In the afternoon it seemed like you did 2 laps went to the pits under red flag and then went out for another 2 laps before another red flag and so on. It was amazing how many “race cars” were showing drivers with no talent. One Renault Clio race car was ahead of me at Radcliffe before running off the track, through the gravel trap, out back onto track off onto the grass on the right, over correct and then back left across the track into the gravel and eventually into the mud….muppet! A few of the Caterham Academy drivers demonstrated lack of fear and made numerous gardening excursions.

Here is one of the reasons behind one of the stoppages:

For those wondering what happened to my poor Caterham gear lever above, that was the result of it suddenly becoming a "flappy paddle" gearbox while going from 5th to 6th diving downing into Craner Curves at 85-90mph.   Fortunately there are no photos of the "gardening" that resulted from my sudden surprise and confusion. Somehow all the gear lever retaining bolts had worked loose so the lever disconnected from gearbox. While I tried to limp to the pits in 6th gear I ran out of revs and had to be flat towed back for recover.

Looking towards Redgate corner:

Looking back towards the start finish line and the pits:

Going through MacLeans

Just about to turn into Coppice

Navigating Redgate corner:

A wonderful drivers track – definitely worth trying out.

I put together some video of the circuits. One thing to keep in mind - renting Caterhams is not cheap. You break it you pay to fix it (except when it breaks due to something not your fault - e.g. gear lever). Exceeding rev limits (6800rpm) is monitored closely and is punished with a fine for each serious transgression (100-500rpm over is a slap on the wrist and told don't do it again). This is fair when you consider that race cars have a hard life and the maintenance is steep and therefore costly. I have found Bookatrack to be very reasonable about things. They have a team that prepares the car, keeps it field up and helps sort things out when they go wrong. I think they are very good outfit to rent with should anyone want to try out one of the famous UK or European circuit.

With this in mind my mode for the day is to get to within 95% of the lap record for that circuit in a Caterham R300. In all cases I succeed by the end of the day and I have not risked the car or my wallet in the process.

The Bookatrack Caterham is a R300 spec car. 180hp Duratec, fully caged, stopped race car. CR500 on 13 inch wheels. Caterham 6 speed gearbox. Stack instrumentation but no speedo. They run both S3 and SV chassis. If you do not like the regular carbon Tillet seats or the larger B2 Tillets like I do not (major back pain results) then they have these specially made up foam seat pads to construct a seat that is very comfortable for a days run - this is what I use.

Camera is a pre-production Sony. Orginally recorded in 1080/60fps, 120 degrees field of view. Sound is mostly rotten as I was testing the internal mics for the maker. Data is recorded via Racechrono Pro with separate bluetooth GPS logger. I use Manfrotto clamps for the most part. Where the video looks like it is moving around and a camera mount may be loose then what you are seeing is actually the Sony SteadyShot feature which tries to compensate for vibration to improve image quality - I think it failed and will try it switch off next time. The large box on my left wrist is the camera control. The silver box on the scuttle is the GPS receiver for the data logger. Apart from the sound the Sony cameras were excellent - I could use the remote to turn on/off the camera mounted on the wishbone while I was belted up sitting in the car. You can also use it to check aim. The terrain change on these circuits is best shown by the altitude in feet change.

Donington National Circuit

So in late March 2018 I just happened to find myself in Belgium for a weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, in the Ardennes, about 1.5 hours east of Brussels. I was last there in July 2013 and had promised I would return but as usual work, life, other cars, family, blah blah, get in the way. It is simply one of the best 3 tracks in the world to drive and a seven is just so well suited around there given the momentum style of driving.

Ignoring that, I signed up for the March 25^th and 26^th (Sunday and Monday) with Bookatrack and again rented a Caterham with them. I believe they run the best track days of any operator anywhere and they are such a fun group of people to be around.

March is an uneasy time for a track day at Spa as you never know what could happen as I learned in March 2013 and got the distinct pleasure….err….experience of driving on track in snow. Not recommended, even at Spa. As it turned out I need not have bothered – sunny, clear, some clouds and in the 50s both days – just perfect.

To remove any chance of jet lag, I flew in early to Brussels and meandered my way over to Spa town, an easy 12 minutes drive from the track.

This was a change from staying at a hotel next to the track as it allowed for enjoying the town’s various nice restaurants in the evening and a nice walk around what is a pretty little town nestled in the valley.

Given I arrived on the Friday and was not driving until Sunday, I decided to take a few scenic drives around the old circuit and visit Stavelot where the Spa-Francorchamps museum is located.

The Museum is located in the undercroft of the restored Abbey. Its not big but the displays rotate regularly and everything is very interesting and well done from original race cars, memorabilia and old photos.

A diorama of the circuit – old and current – in the context of the surrounding area

Following this I drove the old circuit. Originally the circuit was laid out on the local public roads. Eventually this became too dangerous and the modern day circuit, still based on local roads, was carved out and enclosed. Up to 1970 Formula 1 and GT races were being held on public roads, running through villages, alongside houses, fields, with no safety barriers or run off. Speeds averaged 180mph along these roads.

For example, this is the old Malmedy straight.

And here is part of the Masta kink.

If you know where you are looking there are some gravestones along these roads, in drainage ditches by the side of the road, or next to old trees, memorials to the racing drivers who died in high speed crashes.

Quite sobering.

The Saturday was a test day at Spa, so I drove into the pits, dropped the car and proceeded to walk the circuit in its entirety

Despite having been there before, I had never walked the circuit. This helps you understand the geometry and layout of a corner, whether there is elevation change, camber change or other little nuggets of information that can help you drive the circuit quicker. This is a fast circuit – I average 85mph – that’s an average! Astounding when you think about how a Caterham does not have a particularly high top speed. So the game is to carry as much speed as you can through every corner.

The following photo is looking uphill at the old pits and back towards La Source (corner 1).

Then standing in the same spot but swiveling left is Eau Rouge (at the base of the hill – corner 2) looking towards the top of the hill where Raidillon corner is located.

Moving up the hill to the top where Raidillon is located but looking left a little, you get the classic Spa-Francorchamps view back down the hill to Eau Rouge, the old pits and La Source in the background.

Raidillon is the top of the hill. When you come through Eau Rouge (no lifting…), you cannot see the next corner so you aim the car using the tops of the pine trees and if all goes well you pop across the top of the crest, two left wheels on the Raidillon curb as you then track out right.

Then you are on the long Kemmel straight. Its essential to get a high speed run through Eau Rouge and Raidillon to max your speed on the straight. You are still gaining elevation here, heading towards the highest part of the circuit at Les Combes.

This is the exit of Les Combes (corner 7 on the map) and the highest elevation of the circuit

Some mention has to be made of the elevation change on this circuit – its massive.

The lowest point on the circuit, just after Campus corner is at 1110 feet of elevation (from sea level). The highest point on the circuit is just exiting Les Combes at 1410 feet of elevation. So in 1.5 miles the circuit drops 300 feet.

Alternatively, consider that at La Source corner the elevation from sea level is 1272 feet. At Eau Rouge you are at around 1140 feet and at Raidillon you are at 1242 feet of elevation. So in track distance of about an 6/10ths of a mile you have descended 132 feet and then in the next 300-400 feet you ascend 113 feet in elevation.

Pretty radical elevation changes that are only equaled in circuits like Mt Panorama in Australia or Portimao in Portugal or the Nürburgring.

So after Les Combes it is downhill into the right handed sweeper Bruxelles (corner 8 on the map). This is off camber initially although it starts to ease off as you get through to the last third or quarter of the corner.

Looking back uphill to the exit from Bruxelles

Then its to the downhill lefthander (corner 9 on the map). This is tricky to judge. It’s tighter than it looks. It has two green plastic posts on the apex so don’t cut this corner. There is not much run off and if you do get it wrong on exit there is artificial grass just after the curb, not very nice for grip as the car goes all squirrely there. And just to ensure there is a high level of pucker factor, as you track out from the apex there is a dimple in the circuit, right where your right rear wheel tracks out. So you have to watch for the rear end snapping away from you at just the wrong moment.

Then onwards, faster, downhill….

…..to the Double Gauche (corners 10 and 11 on the map). Some people call this double apex left sweeper, Pouhan corner.

The entry (corner 10)

The middle (corner 10 exit and corner 11 entry). The skid marks tell the story of what not to do with the corner...

The exit (corner 11 exit)

Double Gauche is seriously quick and incredibly satisfying if you get it right. Somewhat early looking entry, mild brake tap in 4^th gear, hold the wheel and let the car arc out to the right before arcing back to the second apex. If you get it right then you just hold the wheel constant through the corner and feed the power in. Just after the first apex I am foot to the floor through the rest of the corner. You are carrying some serious speed by the second apex and for me getting up towards the redline in 4^th gear.

Get it wrong and it is one hell of a wild ride. Plenty of tarmac run off once you get beyond the artificial grass.

Then on to Fagnes (corners 12 and 13). This is corner 13 below. It is slightly uphill and favorably cambered. So you can carry good speed right through corner 12 and then flick the car back left for corner 13 all while feeding the power in and generating just a slight drift from the tail – epic fun.

Then it’s on through Campus and onto the straight than leads into Blanchimont. An open left double sweeper – no lifting – before you arrive at the Bus Stop

And here

So it is a hard braking down from around 120-125mph (in a 420R) to like 30mph, flicking right then left.

And at this point you are back at the modern pit straight accelerating up towards La Source.

For this Spa treatment, I rented a Caterham 420R SV. 220hp Duratec. 5 speed gearbox, and LSD. Nice goodies of leather road seats, aero screen and regular track day roll bar.

What I did not expect is that it was brand new. 5 miles on the odometer.

Naturally it required a little fettling on the brakes, some more bleeding to make the pedal firmer to my liking but I was sensible about doing a thorough check myself before racing out there and being silly. As it turned out it was perfect. Not one issue during the two hard days on track.

The only part of the spec I struggled with was the 5 speed gearbox. The ratios were all wrong. A similar engine car with the 6 speed gearbox gets away from you pretty smartly by just having 2 extra ratios – 6 speeds to your 4 speeds – as the 5^th gear is overdrive and the 4^th gear is direct, matching the 6^th gear in the 6 speed box. So along the Kemmel straight I felt like I was doing a high speed economy run in 5^th gear as it just would not pull any further, even after changing at the redline in 4^th.

There is good reason the 5 speed box was specified. Apparently there have been quality issues with the 6 speed box. Given the life these track cars get then you want them reliable.

So I needed to get out there and do my public service by running in that Duratec nice and carefully….errr.... right….

I can just see the for sale ad later – Company demonstrator model, run in carefully by little old lady on Sunday drives in scenic Belgian mountains….

Bookatrack track days are extremely well organized. High quality of driving. Strict enforcement of some basic rules that ensure predictability and safety on track. Plenty of interesting cars to check out. Very friendly crowd. If you want to drive the circuits of the UK or Europe, these are the guys to go with.

Some pit scenes

Yes folks, if it is cold and you sneeze inside your helmet you do fog up your glasses – here I am waiting to de-fog so I can see.

There are many people of alternative persuasions – even Westfield owners enjoy track days. They are quite patient at letting others overtake them…

Naturally, a circuit as quick as Spa ensures that this is not an economy run. But I could use up 2/3rds to 3/4s of a tank every 45 minutes on track. I would simply head to the pits once the fuel gauge hit the red (and below the red on one oops occasion) and the trusty BAT mechanics would spring into action and fill me up. One trusty pit chappie even polished up my car after every session to make sure I looked good on track.

So we head out on track

Eau Rouge

Passing another BAT renter spun out who entertainingly was called Shane!

La Source

Exiting Fagnes corner

With the strict noise restrictions in place in UK and European circuits, Caterham have devised this two muffler set up - a side one and then passing the tube under the wheel arch, over the axle and then to the rear muffler. This allows you to comply with 92db limits on those tracks where it was needed. For Spa the noise limit was 102db for the days I was there. This would be helpful to those running Lime Rock or Laguna Seca.

Keep off the artificial grass people

At the end of Kemmel straight in the braking zone for Les Combes

Like my past experiences with Spa the GPS logger hates the Spa mountains and the data just did not work again. So just video of two sessions from Sunday with no overlay of data.

Somewhere on one of those videos is what happens at Raidillon if you miss the second apex at Eau Rouge and you do not lift….

Sunday session 2

Sunday session 3

I finished the two days with 475 miles on the clock after starting with 5. I think that’s respectable.

Sadly, I cannot make their July track date which is Spa and Zaandvoort. So no chance of going back until this time next year.

Instead I have days at Donington and Silverstone planned for early May and Brands Hatch booked for October. Still chewing on whether I want to do Anglesey for a weekend in August.

One day I may get someone off this forum to join me.

For those people light in their loafers and need a car with a roof to protect their delicate hair, then RSR Spa also rents cars. Renault Clios, Meganes and Porkers. But I will warn you – the Sevens are quicker!

So I am back to Spa for some days on track. This time I brought Jeff @JBH and Rahul @rnr from this USA7s plus quite a few other track day friends.

Yesterday was the museum to see the rotating car displays.

Some freebies from when I bought my UK Caterham.

Jeff was running a Ginetta.  His assessment at the end of the two days on track was that the Ginetta is a great handling car, but way down on power (138 hp). At 1850lbs, it is very much a momentum car.   The Bookatrack photographer put the second Ginetta into the wall at Campus corner illustrating that sudden throttle lift or sudden power will spin it.

Rahul was running the Golf R32 with a few track mods.

My trusty beastie!

We all survived day 1, albeit a little tired and sore. There is a fair amount of G forces on the body around this track and that adds up over the course of the day.

Day 2 weather was cold, sleet and rain. A day to take it easier on track.   Jeff @JBH and myself with my Caterham.

It goes without saying, this was ballistically quick on track.

One of the new Alpine A110s - great looking sports car.  Yes that is a Ferrari 275 GTB next to it.   Yes he took it out in the rain and snow. Yes he did spin it.  Yes he is my hero!

My rental car for this trip was something really unusual. Who of you has heard of a manufacturer called “DS”?

So I had a DS7.

It’s part of Peugeot/Citroen group but is a unique vehicle line. It was mostly well equipped - no power seats or rear vision camera. It was really quite nice to drive except...it had a 1.5L diesel. No turbo. It was sadly lacking in the engine ferret department. Glaciers have moved quicker.

We all survived day 2.   Rahul managed an exciting but safe spin at Pouhon.

The Bookatrack mechanics took to calling Jeff’s Ginetta, the “Love Nest”. Why? Well he and his significant other were spending a lot of time in the small enclosed cabin (on track) that the Ginetta has.

So late Sunday, when the Ginetta arrived in the pits with steamed up windows, the crew started laughing. Their laughter (and mine) increased once the instructor exited the passenger seat.

The weather was pretty rubbish. Snow, hail, sun, sleet, sun, rain, etc. We had all seasons in each hour every hour.    So the Caterham on semi slick tires quite frankly sucked unless there was a dry line. Otherwise I was like a cat in a wet bathtub.    The Focus RS Sport - 350hp, all wheel drive was a star. Perfect for the conditions.

A number of cars had drivers that ran out of talent - BMW 5 series, a VW fun cup thing (guaranteed at these events), and a Caterham.

A Caterham 420R is a pretty quick cat for Spa. I am still going through the data but the quickest lap I had was a 2min48.2. Lap record is 2min43 with equivalent race Caterham. An R300 lap record is 2min45.    For a Focus RS, Renault Megane or Golf R32 then higher 2min50s was considered “good”.

The Ginetta is relatively low powered say 145hp with around 1500lbs. Very nice handling and brakes. So it’s quick in the context of its power/weight ratio but will not compare to a 420R. 210hp at 1350lb. But it is a very nice track car as it is all purpose built.

In the dry at Spa you want a Caterham. In the wet you want an all wheel drive car or a Caterham with proper track wets.

Those without a Caterham or a Ginetta, rented from RSR Spa, a very professional outfit just outside the circuit gates.  L to R: Renault Clio, Renault Megane Cup, Ford Focus RS Sport, and VW Golf R32

The obligatory videos are now ready

1) The straight ahead cam with good sound and data

2) The 360 cam. Double click on the video to see it on the youtube page. Use your mouse/arrow key to pan the camera around. Lap 1 you can look back at Doofus waving at a friend after Radillion in the Focus RS or on lap 2 follow the Aston Martin DB2 as I (eventually) pass it on Kemmel Straight. Look down for the data overlaid on the headlight

Some extra photos of the day

Chasing a buddy Mike through Eau Rouge and up to Radillion. He rented from RSR Spa. A good outfit to rent from if you are looking for more car choice.

Rahul @rnr hurling his Golf through Eau Rouge

In the esses at Les Combes

This track is all about the corner - Eau Rouge

Trying to scare Anand, Rahul's cousin with some good laps. He was with me on my fastest lap around this track.

There is a lot of elevation change between the different parts of the track

La Source turn - turn 1 after the F1 start line

My passenger Jeff @JBH looks rather perturbed?

Heading towards Pouhan corner with the F1 pits in the distance

Coming through Les Combes at the very top of the circuit

Donington Historic Festival

It does not have the cachet that Goodwood has but it also does not have the price tag or attitude. Its incredibly relaxed. You can wander the paddock, stick your head into an engine bay and at lunch walk the pit row. The circuit is brilliant for spectators. Just take the tunnel into the center of the circuit and walk the inside. Lots of grassed earthen berms to give elevated views of the track and still allow close up viewing. This is a spectator event definitely worth attending.

http://www.doningtonhistoric.com/the-event/

You know you are in for a special day when you walk outside your hotel and find a gorgeous Mercedes 300SL. The hotel parking lot was packed with tasty cars.

Like moth to flame, I was suckered in by this little Escort. Note names on the side for that famous WRC driver/navigator partnership.

They actually race these Bentleys. No roll cage. Just a gutsy driver throwing a brick shithouse into a corner at high speed. These things are quick in a straight line.

I have a soft spot for French rally cars - I love Alpine A110s. One day...

A lovely Lagonda

No prizes for guess why I was checking this one out. FIA Group 2 BMW CSL.

Old school mechanics rock!

This is a replica of the Broadspeed Jaguar from the 70s driven by Derek Bell, amongst others. Powered by a Jaguar V12. I bet its reliability was challenging...

Not a hint of woodworm in sight - a Morgan

Jaguar E-type semi-lightweight. One of these days....

The Legends lunch tent for which I did not qualify had a revolving display of tasty machinery outside for the whole weekend.

Adjustable shocks, 1930s Bentley style

And the dash from the same car. I want a klaxon button on my car!

This is an historically important car for Volvo. It was their first dip into 1980s touring car racing in the very early 1980s. On the back of that they went in with their 1984 Group A evolution car run by Ruedi Eggenberger.

Shark attack! 3 Group A BMWs. Group A cars are big money these days. In this one pic you are probably looking at US$700,000 plus worth of car. I would love the Garage du Bac car - great period race history on that one.

A Ford Capri. European FIA Group 2 with the Westlake V6 that puts out around 300hp and sounds magnificent. These were largely overrun on the continent in the early 70s by the emergence of the BMW CSL although they hung on competitively in the British Touring Car Championship into the beginning of the 80s.

A D-Type - what more can you say. Yes it is genuine and yes I could touch it. Brilliant event to allow you so close to such historic cars. I saw the owner allow a 10 year old kid to sit in the drivers seat and just imagine. Lifelong motoring passion result from those types of youth experiences.

This car regularly runs at Goodwood with name drivers. This weekend it was misbehaving sadly.

A lovely Aston Martin

The Formula 5000 racing was one of the best to watch.

Have a close look at the driver names on these cars - James Hunt, Mike Hailwood.... They may be historic cars but they are still raced hard.

Naturally I had to check this one out. Its a replica and not a true Group C Bathurst car. I chatted to the owner and could actually tell him the early history. 1983 VH Holden Commodore converted to a race car in the early 1990s for the Commodore Cup and eventually Queensland Touring Cars. Somewhere along that line it was converted to having a 1985 Group A VK grill. The owner bought it and modified it with the Australian Group C body kit from 1982-1984 and put the livery of the Bathurst 1000 winner from 1982 on it. He was going through a lot of frustration dialing it in - it was not stopping well nor turning evenly left or right. It was running a Chev 350 which is cheating a little....lot...

The driver was Abbie Eaton, time setting driver on The Grand Tour. She was delightfully relaxed about her father's car despite it misbehaving at times and even so had it as high as 3rd place in the race.

What can you say?

And the one-off Ferrari 'Breadvan'. Unfortunately it broke during the race but was wonderful to watch while it was going at it.

Turning to the racing, apologies for the poor quality as I was taking these on an iPhone.

One of the touring car races with a BTCC car going through Craner Curves.

An Alfa WTCC car exiting Old Hairpin past Donington Hall.

Entering McLean’s.

A nice view of Craner Curves, Old Hairpin and then Starkeys (closest to camera).

A lovely old Alfa GTV Group A touring car.

An Elva

A BMW 635Csi Group A touring car following a Rover SDI Group A UK touring car

The Ferrari ‘Breadvan’

A FIA Group 2 BTCC Mini following a Group A Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth. The Mini later sheared its right side front stub axle and ended up nestled up against the wall where I was standing.

Bookatrack Caterham

Just at the back of the pits is the headquarters for Bookatrack. A big showroom and adjoining office. In a separate building just behind is the maintenance area where they service the rental cars, build customer cars and support Caterham owners.

Of course I had to visit and pick up an order form…

There is a huge mural in the showroom of a Bookatrack rental Caterham on circuit.

But when you look in close you can see it is made of up lots of small images from their track day photography. I appear on this wall in more than one place – just not sure where!

Donington Park Circuit

A circuit with a lot of history – pre-war GP racing plus more modern Formula 1.   It is a wonderful drivers circuit set within a natural valley bowl so lots of entertaining elevation change.

This photo shows the back of the circuit in the bowl with the run down through the sensationally fun Craner Curves then the right into Old Hairpin before the track heads left past the old stone bridge that used to be part of Donington Hall.

Extending the view out further, this shows Craner Curves, Old Hairpin andthen the long run through Starkeys heading back up hill.

If you panned right then you see the run into the righthander McLean’s.

Then a short straight uphill to Coppice which is an early apex and long arcing exit.

For this I had a Caterham 310. This is 152hp Sigma engine car. LSD. 5 speed Mazda box. Ideally I would have had more power but it was the only car available for rental at short notice.

Donington, like most UK circuits, is subject to strict noise controls. For my track day it was 98db. Needless to say this Mustang failed it on the sighting laps behind the pace car!!!

This is a relatively short track. We were running the GP configuration which gives the extra arm off the back of the pits that provided extra length. However, it is quick – indicated by the average speed. In my rent-a-caterham it was a third and fourth gear track for the most part. Only went into second for the two hairpins on the GP extension. It may have been a 5 speed box but 5^th is an overdrive and you lost speed if you tried to use it. Luckily 4^th was a direct drive and so I survived just reving it out to 7000.

Some on track action

I just overtook him…honest!!!

For video we have two options. The first is the 360 video. You can pan the camera around to look out the back or look down on me driving - click and drag the cursor to pan. 

Sorry no decent sound on this as it does not support an external microphone.

For those who are conventional and like sound then this is the alternative video.

Silverstone Circuit

After my Donington Historics excursion, I made my way to Silverstone for a follow up track day in the same week.   Like Donington, I had been here before and I was driving the same Caterham 310.   However, I had big reservations. The GP layout at Silverstone is a power circuit. Very fast. But I only had 152hp so I was not going to be very fast. Plus with the 5 speed gearbox that they only offer now (apparently there are now reliability issues with the Caterham 6 speed box that traditionally was specified and that I have in my Caterham CSR) then I was likely to find myself stuck without the right gear at some point. Sure enough that was how it turned out.

You really need a Caterham 620R or R500 to enjoy this circuit.

Some on track photos

There are two choices of video

Option 1

360 video that you can pan around and look everywhere but not great sound but it does have a track map and data overlay and corner labelling for the first lap so you know what corner I am going through. Click and drag cursor to pan the video around 360 degrees

Option 2

Regular video with sound and data overlays.

Both videos really illustrate the power nature of the circuit. I would belt into corners at max velocity 105mph, usual high speed understeer and then the aim was to minimize the speed being scrubbed off by the corner. Then on exit, I could not drop a gear to pick up the pace because of the gaps between the ratios forcing me to hold a higher gear and lug it out of the corners.

And this was the situation all over the circuit – Copse, Maggott/Beckett, Abbey, etc. It was a fun day on a circuit but frustrating all the same.

So whats my favorite between Silverstone and Donington?  Donington.   No contest. Its fast and fun and well suited to a seven. Even in a lightly powered Caterham it is a good drive because it flows so well. Donington is one of the best circuits you will ever drive in a Seven as it flows so well maintaining momentum.

Covid-19 put a crimp in my regular journeys to the UK and Europe for track days but slowly I am getting back to it. 

This month saw me get to Oulton Park and Anglesey circuits in the UK.  I was last at Oulton Park in 2012 - so its been some time.   

My trusty steed is a 2018 Caterham 420R.  Ex-Bookatrack rental - in fact I was the very first rental customer and "gently" ran it in at Spa doing 500+ miles around the track.  Nothing special done to it.  Standard 2L Duratec with 210hp.  5 Speed Miata gearbox.  LSD.  13 inch Apollo wheels with Avon ZZS "tyres."   Only modification I have done is to switch out the leather seat for a Tillett race shell.  

A company by the name of TFL Racing Limited support me by storing the Caterham in Stratford and then bringing it to the circuit I am signed up for.  They have a sizable business in supporting Caterhams (and even Radicals) with this - not just track days but also race events.  It ends up a social day as the other drivers are fun company to hang out in the pits with.  

UK circuits are old school in style.  A lot of them were originally carved out of former WW2 airfields.  However, Oulton Park is not one of those.  Its narrow, tight, and bumpy.  It rewards the brave.  

I was running with Goldtrack for both days.  Goldtrack are a higher end track day organizer.  Less cars so no delays getting on track.  The format is open pit lane.  When you want to go out, you just do, no waiting.  Passing is on the left only with point by on the straights.  A few race drivers took liberties with that when presented with an open track for a dive bomb down the inside of a slower car.  Despite that it was well behaved. 

The crowd is eclectic.  Historic racers.  Modern racers.  Modern super cars.  Race and road Caterhams.  A raft of super hot hatches.  And all skills of drivers in between.  

The parking lot at Oulton tells the story.

The owners were too scared to put these on track.  The track machinery looked like this:

This very pretty Lotus Elan, with very rare BRM Twin Cam, sadly did not go far.  It was towed in after half a lap with electrical issues:

In fairness to the Lotus, it was not the only one with electrical issues.  The Caterham 420R (not mine) below was possessed.  It would start itself even after unplugging the ECU, removing ignition key, removing the cut off key and removing all fuses.  It needed an exorcism or just a good auto electrician.  It was not fixable on the day.

While I was rusty to find the right lines, eventually it all came together on the day.

Yes I do have a comedy "Croc" fake New York plate on the car.  It was a gift from some UK track day friends who want to warn those overtaking that I might not know how to corner both left and right...

I only had one incident all day.  I was following a Caterham 620R and he had a HUGE braking moment at the second chicane with massive clouds.  I dropped on to the grass to avoid going inside the smoke cloud - after all who knows what lurks inside there!   Justice was served as the results of his flat spot were evident in the pits later.

Then it was time for a short 2 hour drive over to Anglesey, in Wales.  Normally this circuit is shrouded in mist, fog, rain, drizzle, sleet, hail or snow, all with a howling gale for amusement.  This is because it is perched on the edge of the Irish Sea, easily the most spectacular siting of a race track I have ever seen.

For the first time since I first drove this circuit in 2010, I got fine weather.  Unbelievable.

The view from the top of the spectator mount was epic.

The other reason I like this circuit is that it is a fun drive.  Mix of fast and slow corners.  Lots of G forces.  And that view as you exit Peel and see the Irish Sea with the mountains of Snowdonia in the background....amazing.  

Even though it was a Goldtrack day, the crowd attending changed.  Less high end posers and more real enthusiasts. Far less exotica in the pits to look at.

The only problem was most of the attendees had not not been there before so the slow traffic was quite bad as people tried to learn the lines.  The good news was there is lots of passing opportunities on this circuit.  So it was easy to get by.  

Only one other TFL customer came with me to Anglesey for the day - a Caterham 620R .  

The good news about Anglesey is that bulk hp gets you nowhere.  A 2019 visit here showed a 420R can hang onto the back of a 620R.  It may not be able to pass but provided no slow traffic gets in the way, the 420R can do close lap times.  

If you ever want to sample the joys of a Caterham in its homeland - whether on road or track - let me know and I can put you in touch with TFL Racing that supports Caterham rentals for visitors.  

Links

TFL Racing

https://www.tflracing.co.uk/

In June 2023 I had the chance to do two track days – one at Zandvoort, in The Netherlands and one at Zolder, in Belgium.  

The days were run by Lotus On Track UK.  Their philosophy, like Lotus Cars, is to restrict participation to light, nimble, agile cars that are all about handling.  They are specific in blocking heavy cars (e.g., Mustang, etc.) but allow non-Lotus cars like Caterhams, Porsche 911/Cayman, Renault Alpine.  They also refuse to accept drivers with race licenses.  This tones down the aggressive passing that seems to happen on UK track days when the race teams turn up for testing.  

This was my first time running my Caterham 420R with the Lotus on Track group and I enjoyed it.  No red flags or frequent stoppages from people (or Ginettas) spraying off into the gravel traps when they run out of talent.  Their calendar of track days is extensive and covers UK and Europe which helps fitting things into my calendar.

The one aspect of running with this group is that several circuits they run at (e.g., Zandvoort, Spa-Francorchamps, Dijon-Prenois, etc.), require a cage be fitted to Caterhams.  Given this requirement is on all the great circuits I like driving, I bought a roll cage and had it fitted to my car.  

Zandvoort Circuit

The origins of this circuit date back to WW2 when in the immediate aftermath, the original race circuit was partly laid out on roads, built by the Germans, during their occupation.  The circuit is laid out in amongst the sand dunes, allowing the track to undulate across the terrain.  

It has a fearsome reputation for deaths over the years and the safety has been considerably upgraded.  Even so, run off is marginal in places, there are gravel traps right next to the curbing, and a lot of concrete walls to which potential for impact is close.  

The circuit was remodeled in 2019/20 as part of the upgrading for a new F1 contract.  Several of the corners were modified to incorporate significant banking – turns 1, 3 and 14.  

Turn 3 is of considerable note, as it the most banking I have seen on any track anywhere.  It is tight plus high (think 2 stories high).  NASCAR has banking but it is not particularly tight on a corner, being a large oval.  This is NASCAR oval type banking but in a very tight hairpin.  It also has dual level of differing camber, like the Karussel at the Ring which creates some interesting handling effects as you dive into the banking.  For sheer craziness, you can also belt into the corner and stay on the upper level which then just sweeps you around at high G’s.  My neck was feeling the strain by the end of the day.  

Turn 14 feels like running a banked oval track but in reverse – reminding me of my time in the Mustang on Charlotte Motor Speedway where you were looking upwards to see where you were going.  

Call this a real old school circuit.  You were conscious that if you got it wrong there would be painful and/or expensive consequences.  

Plenty of Lotus cars to admire in the pits.  

TFL Racing were doing the usual support for me, having brought my car from the UK to Europe for the two events.  

No official photographer but some on track photos collected from a variety of people over the course of the day.   Credit to Edward Westerberg of International 7 Network for some on track photos of me. 

The character of the track suits a Se7en brilliantly.  The undulating layout plus lots of tight turns, some with favorable camber, really suit a momentum style of driving.  While the Porsche GT3s could be incredibly rapid, there really was only one decent area to put down any power advantage – along the main straight and maybe a little out the back of the circuit between turns 10 and 11.   A Caterham 620R driver noted that he found it challenging to haul in my Caterham 420R anywhere other than along the main straight, which really speaks to how hard it is to put the power down as the car is never really moving in a straight line at any point.    

My overall assessment is that this is one of my top five racetracks I have run at, the others being Spa-Francorchamps, Mt Panorama, Portimao and Dijon-Prenois.  I will be coming back to Zandvoort in 2024.  

At the end of the Zandvoort day, it was on to Zolder Circuit in Belgium.  A quick overnight at Hotel De Pits (recommended), located right next to the circuit, then day 2 of the track day adventure began.  

Zolder Circuit

This hosted the Belgian F1 GP for ten years when Spa-Francorchamps was out of action.  It is sadly known for where Gilles Villeneuve lost his life in a crash.  The track dates to the 1960s and is very much out of the spotlight today although it remains a well-known track for GT, DTM, and Touring Car events.  

It has an unusual technical character.  First half is fast and free flowing.  The second half is highly technical with three lots of chicanes and a hairpin.  There are a lot of subtleties to learn to be quick on this circuit.  Minor tweaks to your line can have a big difference to lap time over the course of a lap.  For example, getting turn 1 wrong will impact your speed all the way until the braking zone for turn 5.  

Some images of the circuit to help visualize some of the corners.  This is turn 1 - a fast 90 degree left.  This presented me with a challenge.  My 420R has the 5 speed Miata/MX5 gearbox.  I found the ratios were just not compatible with the corners.  Third was too high - select it and you ran out of revs by turn 3 with no place to shift or short shift.  I ended up going into turn 1 with 4th gear and holding it all the way through to braking zone at turn 5.  Not ideal as it felt like I was lugging it at 4-5000rpm.  Chatting with a local expert validated that this was the right choice.  

This is the hump immediately after the turn 5 chicane.  

Last chicane leading onto the pit straight plus a piece of the pit entry road.

The main straight along the front of the pits.

The catch with this circuit is it is very strict on noise.  Each car had to have a transponder mounted in the car so that the monitoring system could identify the offending car.  First is a warning.  Second is you are going home for the day.  Measurement is 98db drive by with sensors at four points around the circuit.  If you are within a second of another car, then the system cannot work out which car caused the noise break.  Cars were being black flagged for noise all the time forcing them to come in for a chat.  One Caterham 620R that I was running with was thrown off with a 98.1db reading.  Another 420R with the 6-speed gear box was black flagged.  

This is somewhat concerning as all the Caterhams I run with have the additional track day silencer package.  Standard muffler unit down the side of the Caterham.  The pipe then extends through the wheel arch to under the rear end where a second silencer is installed.  I have the same set up and this allows me to do 92db days at a variety of UK tracks.  It’s a bit hard to understand the Zolder 15-foot distant drive-by noise failures at 98db when you pass 92db static tail pipe test at 4 or 5000rpm at UK circuits.  However, there is no arguing or appeals if you are called out.  

I was being supported again by TFL Racing.  Everyone who was at Zandvoort made the trek down to Zolder to make it a two day event.  

The track suited a se7en or for that matter a Lotus as it put a premium on nimbleness.   I had the chance to follow a locally based pro, Cameron Hawes, in a Caterham for a few laps as he was instructing one of the TFL-supported cars.  It was interesting to feel how seemingly minor adjustments in your driving lines could have magnified results on corner exit speed.  

One of the Caterham 620Rs took aggressively to cutting the corners and going over some curbs.  The predictable result saw him loose his second silencer.  In his words "the car got really loud all of a sudden!".   Naturally he had a noise problem pretty quickly.  

Great race circuit and worth driving.  I loved the series of first 4 corners as it provided a great challenge to get the sequence right to maximize speed.  

Links

TFL Racing

https://www.tflracing.co.uk/

Lotus On Track

Lotus on Track - The track day club run by, and for Lotus enthusiasts (lotus-on-track.com)

Zandvoort Circuit

Circuit Zandvoort | Home of the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix

Zolder Circuit

The Funfastic Circuit! - Circuit Zolder : Circuit Zolder (circuit-zolder.be)

Hotel De Pits

Hotels :: The Lodge Group - Hotels, Brasseries and Party Halls (lodge-hotels.be)

Cameron Hawes

Cameron Hawes Racing – Welcome to Racing Driver Cameron Hawes' website

We arrived on Saturday ahead of the event starting Monday, to give us some time to recover from jet lag and get a track walk in.  RSR Spa were running the track days for Monday and Tuesday.  Then GoldTrack UK were running the Wednesday and Thursday track days. 

So for Sunday it was track walk time.  Fortunately there was a major race event going on with free admission.  We also had the opportunity to do a Monday morning track walk at Eau Rouge/Raidillon and Double Gauche with Ron Simon, CEO and Founder of RSR who were running the Monday and Tuesday track days.  I rented an Alfa 75 from Ron at Nürburgring in the mid-90s.  He loves his Lancia’s, Alfas and Fiats. 

Spa is a big track 4.2 miles or 7km around.  Its nestled into a valley in such a way to maximize the elevation gains and losses.  Its creation is a little bit of an accident as it was originally just using local roads but the really high speed sections were eliminated and a new section added to make it the configuration it is today. 

Not that it is now slower.  There are still vast stretches of track where a Caterham is flat out and many corners where the speed through is above 100mph.  It is old school and requires a lot of driver courage to be fast.   There is a reason it is one of the best circuits (or the best – depending on who you talk to) circuits in the world.

Track Walk Around Spa-Francorchamps

Starting with the modern F1 start finish line, the first corner is  La Source.  A 120 degree tight corner.  In my 420R with the Miata 5 speed box, it is second gear, leading on to a steep run down hill past the old Endurance Pit Complex.  You accelerate up to 4^th gear (1:1 ratio) and foot is on the floor and the car is at roughly 115mph speed.

You then reach corners 2, 3 and 4 – the famous Eau Rouge and Raidillon – one of the truly great race track corners anywhere in the world. 

Without lifting (in a Caterham 420R that is) you flick the car left onto the striped curbing, then an assertive turn right to track to the steep uphill apex.  Now you feel the track compression and the positive G’s from the forces on the car.  By this time you are looking uphill but all you see is sky and tree tops.  The next apex on the left – Raidillon - is not visible.  But still you flick the car left to track over the apex at Raidillon and let the car run wide to the right.  The crest sees negative G’s and the pit of your stomach knows it.  All this time the foot is on the accelerator flat.  The 115mph or so you started with at the bottom of the hill has scrubbed off to around 105mph now.   You need to push hard in this corner as the next part of the track, the Kemmel Straight, is a long uphill rise which makes it hard for a Caterham to gain speed. 

This is where the weakness of my 420R comes in.  With the 5 speed Miata gearbox, the 4^th gear might be 1:1 but the 5^th gear is an overdrive.  The diff ratio is 3.9 so I will be holding the car at redline in 4^th gear about three-quarters of the way along the Kemmel Straight.  I find if I go for 5^th gear, the uphill gradient causes me to lose speed so 4^th gear it is – about 125mph.

We then reach corners 5, 6, and 7 – Les Combes and Malmedy.  This is a relatively fast left right left sequence, in third gear for me.  This is where you see a Caterham make up significant time and track on bigger cars.  We are at the highest point of the circuit now.   Its all downhill from here.

Corners 8 and 9 are Bruxelles (also called Rivage) and the newly modified Speakers corner, for which there are two track options now. 

Bruxelles is a 180 degree steep downhill right hander.  It is off camber.  I use 3^rd gear.  There is not a lot of time to gain in this turn but lots to lose.  The bigger cars will make it a two apex or very late single apex corner but nearly all experience understeer from the off camber nature.  The Caterham line is to hug the inside curb as there is a V-shape profile where track meets curb which helps to sustain speed.  Its impossible to build up speed for turn 9 as, if you are a bigger car, you cannot easily exit fully on the left from Bruxelles and so speed is compromised.  A Caterham can go all the way to the left on exit and come back in time to make Speakers corner.

Speakers corner is still steeply downhill with a very slow technical entry, continuing to hold 3^rd gear.  There is very little run off on exit although the curb on exit is favorable for use.  Trying to get a clean exit helps in maximizing the speed on the downhill straight that follows. 

Corners 10 and 11 are the Double Gauche (Double Left) or sometimes known as Pouhan.  This is one of the greatest corners you will find on a track anywhere.  Treat the two corners as one big long corner with a double apex.  The entry is limited in sightlines and I find the turn in feels early.  Dab the brakes, turn in, hold 4^th gear – as you will need it by the mid point of the corner – and then go for throttle. 

You will build speed throughout and you know you have it right if you are at full throttle by just after mid point of Double Gauche and the wheel is held static in your hands while the car just tracks one arc through to exit, rear end slightly yawing from the speed being added.  Immensely satisfying as a driver.  A Caterham can absolutely fly through here as you are around 110-115mph before the braking zone at corner 12.

Corners 12 and 13, called Fagnes or sometimes Pif-Paf is a sequent of right and left S bend approached   I use 3^rd gear and really can get on throttle as the camber is quite favorable.

For corner 12, sacrifice the first right hander to enhance exit speed from corner 13.  Riding the curbs will assist in adding speed from the wider corner lines that are possible, however, a caution on the apex curb for turn 13 in that I find it makes a Caterham rotate rear end.  The good news about that is you can maximize turn 12 more, take an early entry to corner 13 and rely on the use of curb to rotate the car on exit of corner 13.  Of course, there is zero run off on the exit of corner 13.  You get it wrong and you are into the gravel instantly. 

After exiting Fagnes, there is not a lot of time to transition your car to the left ready for entry to corner 14 called Campus.  However, I found I was using that stretch to pass quite a few slower cars as this is a part of the circuit where the Caterham is very strong.

Corner 14 or Campus is a slightly downhill 90 degree right hander.  A later entry with trail braking helps as cars tend to be prone to understeer here. Exit speed is critical.  Lots of gravel here if you make a mistake plus the walls are very close. 

Use the curb on exit and hold that curb all the way until your turn in point for corner 15 Paul Frere.  I also make a short shift to 4^th gear here as I am adding speed all the way through corner 15.

Paul Frere opens up on exit.  Entry and exit curbs are flat so use them to widen the corner line and maximize speed onto the long winding “straight” plus Blanchimont corners which are taken flat out (in my Caterham).

Corners 16 and 17 are Blanchimont 1 and 2.  In reality Blanchimont 1 is just a slight bend in a straight.  Blanchimont 2 is a serious corner.  It is a no lift foot flat on the throttle corner for a Caterham. Camber is favorable so I do not experience understeer.  I did not see any car through there faster than a Caterham on my three days.  A few tried to match me through there (Porsche Cayman Gt4, VW Fun Cup, Lamborghini Gallardo) and two of them ended up in the gravel on the right needing recovery.  The other ran way wide but avoided the gravel.  It is a sensationally fast corner. 

This leads us to corners 18 and 19 – the Bus Stop and last two corners on the track. This is a very slow S bed.  It is called the Bus Stop as when it was still used as a public road (as late as 2000), there was an actual bus stop for public transportation.  This is the heaviest braking point on the track. 

Sacrifice the first corner with the aim of maximizing the exit speed on the second corner.  Its slow – get used to it.  Throttle is useful for rotating the car on exit.  Complicating matters is that this is pit entry so you will have to navigate slower cars. 

Then you are back on the start-finish straight and the fun begins again. 

RSR Track Day

RSR operates a very high-end event.   Lots of Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis, McLaren’s, Mercedes, etc.  RSR rent a lot of cars for use on the track so it is not unusual to see a Golf GTO or BMW M2 circulating.  So it was appropriate that TFL Racing turned up with 10 Caterhams and a Ariel Atom. 

This is the sign on garage.  Nice sofas.  Complimentary croissants and pain-au-chocolat along with fresh espresso of your choice at breakfast and during the day.  This is where they would hold a champagne reception at the end of day – proper French champagne in glass champagne flutes.  Lunch was included.  For those who have experienced the USA7s event at the NJMP Drivers Club, this is many notches higher in the quality department again.

The Cars at an RSR Track Day

When I said RSR ran a high-end event, look at the quality of the cars present:

Sound limit for the day was 108db drive by.  That led to some interesting exhaust modifications on the Porsche brigade. 

And I just have a simple Caterham. 

TFL Racing brought 10 Caterhams and an Ariel Atom.  The Caterhams, for the most part, were 420 race cars – S3 chassis, 2L Duratec engine at around 210hp, a 6 speed Sadev sequential gearbox with the 3.62 rear end.  Most were running the Avon ZZR extreme compound.  They also are 60kg lighter than a road car as they are stripped out. 

The only exception to this was the 420 race car being rented by Bruce and Cem – it was running Toyo tires as it had been running the Toyo 7 Race Series.  Their car:

My car was also an exception being a 420R SV road car.  Same engine but running the 5 speed Miata gearbox and a 3.9 rear end. 

TFL Pits

TFL had subscribed for the garage option - 700 Euros a day...ouch!

Phil and Sarah who own and operate TFL Racing, frequently bring their daughter Milly to the events.  She is perfectly comfortable around the pits and wears noise headphones when things are running.  Here she is checking the torque on the wheel nuts.

Out on Track

At one point during the day there was a yellow flag across the start-finish straight but I could not work out what the problem was.  On entry to the pits I understood.  A raccoon was running around and was eventually caught in the pits. 

Bruce out in his Caterham rental.  Debate in the pits - is the BMW driver behind giving him the bird for being faster?   hmmmm....

Part 2 can be found here

Part 1 of this article can be found here

Tues at Dawn

Perfect weather 44deg F start to the morning.  Warmed up nicely to 71 deg F by the middle of the day. 

TFL Pits on Tuesday and Wednesday

No Sarah is not topping up the car with coffee!

I warped a set of front disks which needed replacing.  Phil is doing the replacement while Sarah supervises.  Turns out they are the original disks.  Still on original pads. 

Both Bruce and Cem were very diligent about looking at their data in efforts to reduce their laps times.  I viewed it as I am on vacation and could not care less about looking at another spreadsheet while enjoying myself on track.  Meanwhile Milly is demonstrating she can keep between the lines while coloring in!

GoldTrack

The GoldTrack UK folks are a good group to run with.  Clearly pitched at a cheaper price point than the RSR Spa people, the cars were cheaper and the drivers, on average, generally better.  Far less red flags than RSR, only 2 more cars written off over their two days.  Guess what – they were Porsches too!

On Track on Tuesday and Wednesday

The Caterham driving standards were for the most part some of the best out there.  However, there was a moment when Cem joined up with three other TFL customers to have an enthusiastic game of track tag.  A bit of drafting, passing, maybe the odd pass under brakes, etc.  All good fun. 

However, the track did not see it that way and put a black flag out for Cem.  However, that was not Cem’s car number so he rightly ignored it.  A little while later a red flag came out to bring everyone into the pits.  As our four Caterham drivers’ arrived they were pulled aside, made to get out of their cars and given a good bollocking (to use the English expression).  Oops!

Another driver was given a coaching moment on when it is and is not acceptable to repeatedly put four wheels off the circuit. 

No harm done. 

Meanwhile, driving away happily with less attention from the race control folks was me.

The Berlin Gentlemen Drivers Club Carnage

By and large the driving was good, except for drivers from a specific marque – Porsche.  Monday and Tuesday saw repeated red flags for crashes.  The Berlin Gentlemen Drivers Club was clearly present.  Fat wallets are no guarantee of talent.  By end of Tuesday there were seven written off Porsches and another two had made it back into the pits under their own power but were clearly up for expensive fixes.  One of those still rolling was crabbing – body not square with chassis, and another had blown all the airbags btu was still able to drive.

Look at the carnage.

Spa-Francorchamps demands the very best of a driver.  It harshly punishes those that are out of their depth. 

Wrapping it Up

I ended up giving it away at 3pm on Wednesday.  By then I had de-laminated a front tire.  Not bad for 3 days use since new.  While I had a spare of mine on the truck, I decided to save it for another day. 

The end of it was a great three day event in perfect weather.  Bruce and Cem stayed on for the fourth day, Thursday but the weather was very different - steady rain so they gave it away early. 

I am already planning an RSR event in April next year - 3 days on track at Estoril and Portimao.  Portimao is one of the most challenging tracks I have driven.  Who is coming with me?

Postscript

Cem added video of his fastest lap of the trip, which I have embedded below.  Really clean neat lap.

Links

TFL Racing

https://www.tflracing.co.uk/

2023 – The Best of British Tour

Last week, I joined the Lotus On Track “Best of British” Tour.  This was three track days in quick succession – Anglesey, Donington and Oulton Park.  All have very different characters and offer very different track experiences. 

The Lotus On Track Group is a club for owners of Lotus cars.  It is intended for lightweight, good handling cars to participate in a safe setting on track.  They will allow other lightweight cars in, plus the odd Porsche, but they exclude bigger and heavier performance cars.  Caterhams are acceptable.  No drivers with race licenses allowed.  Caterhams need a cage.  The keener readers of this article will notice a few Caterhams do not have this, operating with just the standard track day roll bar. This is because those owners were grandfathered an extra year to upgrade their Caterham’s to the new roll cage format. 

None of these circuits are new to me.  I have substantial seat time in Caterhams around all of the circuits. 

Anglesey

This circuit located way out on the north west corner of Wales on the Irish Sea, is famous for its unforgiving weather.  True to form, the weather forecast was for fair skies and modest sun.  Instead it was windy with alternate periods of sun and rain coming in off the back shoulder of the circuit.

The location may be unforgiving for weather but the views are the most stupendous of any circuit you will visit. 

You come around Peel corner to be confronted with a huge view ocean and the mountains of Snowdonia in the distance. 

The circuit is fairly new by UK standards.  Plenty of run off for safety.  A nice mix of fast and slow to give your upper body a good workout. 

I was driving my 2018 Caterham 420R.  Standard spec 210hp Duratec with the 5 speed Miata MX5 gearbox and 3.9 rear end.  Plenty of oomph to have fun with on the tighter UK style circuit.   It’s a 2-3-4 gear tyle of circuit with second used in two spots.  Fifth gear is never used as it is an overdrive in this gearbox.  In 2019 I was able to hang onto the back of a 620R around the circuit for quite a few laps.  While the higher horsepower Caterham could get away down the long back straight, it could not use that power on the tighter sections and it had a longer braking distance because of its higher top speeds.  A 420R is the sweet spot of the range in my view.

The pits was fairly sparse this circuit as most people were hunkered down in the garage to avoid the inclement weather.

No track photographer here so only one on track photo taken of me on the very short pit straight. 

In the amusement stakes, a Lotus Elise managed to do a major spin on the exit of the first hairpin.  He was so far off track and the grass was so wet he was bogged to the belly pan and it took a  4wd pick up with a winch to get him out.  Subsequently, in future laps that afternoon you could spot the guilty car as it was carrying dingleberries of turf and sod hanging off its rear valence.  A black flag was issued for the owner to come in and clean his claggy rear end!

Donington GT Race Weekend

As there was a one day gap between the Anglesey event and the Donington event, I took the opportunity to watch the British GT final championship race on the Sunday.  The pits were excellent for checking out the talent.  The racing was pretty good too!

Donington

The Donington circuit is located about two hours drive north of Heathrow in the Midlands region of the UK.  Beautifully sited in a valley, it makes great use of elevation to produce a wonderfully flowing circuit that while short, suits a Caterham brilliantly.  You only use two gears – 3^rd and 4^th.

We were running the National circuit configuration which deletes the hairpin addition that was introduced for the time when GP races were briefly held here.

Usual support from the TFL Racing folks.  They had 6 cars attending - 5 Caterhams and 1 Atom.

Being a Lotus On Track event, the back of the pits had some very tasty Lotus cars present.

Track images

Some of the Caterhams which were allowed to participate despite being race cars, were a little bad, allegedly diving down the inside of cars under braking.  While this did not include me nor a number of the other Caterham drivers, to address the driving standards issue, all Caterhams were called in and their drivers given a strong bollocking about the correct on track behavior that should be followed.  May seem harsh but I was in favor as if you do not stop it early, the driving standards deteriorate quickly.

The following photo begins to illustrate how Donington is laid out in a valley and the circuit winds its way down and then back out again.  Brilliant drive and really suits a lightweight car.

I gave the day away around 3pm when I blew out the right rear on my car on the main straight at about 105mph.  It was a wild ride to bring the car back down to crawl it back into the pits.  I had had a half spin early in the morning and lost all the air from the tire.  Puzzled we filled it back up - it was holding normally and then went out to try some gentle laps before deciding it was good.  Five hours later it blew out rather catastrophically.   My guess is the bead was partially damaged in some way in the morning incident but the tire held on for hours more before finally letting go later in the day?  Quite strange....

I called it a day and got on the road to do the drive 2 hours north to Oulton Park ahead of the next day on track.

Oulton Park

This circuit is defiantly old school.  Narrow, bumpy, sinuous, it has zero run off room if you make an error.  Barriers are tight up to the edges of the circuit.  But I love it.  It’s a wonderful drive and suits a seven, or any Lotus for that matter, brilliantly. 

Weather had rained heavily overnight but was easing up in the morning. 

By 1pm, the dry line had formed and laps were getting quicker. 

Great clean driving by everyone.  Only a Lotus Exige spun in the second chicane ahead of me which earned him an annoyed wave from me as he rejoined the circuit without looking first to see who might be coming – myself and the Porsche GT3 behind me!

Oulton Park is sited on the grounds of an old manor house.  The following photo is the classic image of this circuit, old gatehouse in background as you round the corner, heading for pit straight. 

A great three day event with fun had by all, despite the old wet day. 

Off to Goodwood next week.

Links

TFL Racing

https://www.tflracing.co.uk/

Lotus On Track

https://www.lotus-on-track.com/

As the year winds down, I had one last UK trip I was committed for two track days, one at Donington (again) and Goodwood.  Its difficult to get track days at Goodwood as only 10 cars can be on track at any one time, so it is quite restrictive, plus the price is extremely high for such exclusivity.  I had been booked for June 2020 but thanks to an annoying pandemic, I was cancelled out. 

Doing the usual overnight red-eye flight out of East Coast USA, I arrived at 7:00AM at Heathrow feeling the usual second-hand self after one of those flights.  Hot shower and two coffees later, I was on my way to pick up a rental car.  I won the rental car lottery this trip - a new top of the line Volvo XC90. 

This was useful as my morning was being used to stop at the British Motor Museum, just off the M40, at Gaydon, about an hour north west of Heathrow and an hour and half from Donington where I was going to be staying the night.

I went to the British Motor Museum back in 2014.  Originally the nucleus of the Museum was the remnants of the British Leyland collection which went bankrupt in the 1980s.   However, it has been substantially expanded since then to bring in Vauxhall collection once Vauxhall was sold by GM in 2017 to PSA (Peugeot & Citroen).  In addition, a major new building was constructed next to the Museum to become the home of the Jaguar collection (which is headquartered next door) and have a classic car restoration facility. 

A review of the various British brands that existed and have failed is sobering to look at.  The British car industry substantially collapsed over the period from 1955 to 1990, unable to compete due to small volumes and high costs plus unfriendly Government policy.

Caterham, Westfield and Lotus feature on the wall of car badges.  But their presence alongside failed companies such as TVR, Allard, Frazer-Nash, Rover, MG, etc. is a sobering reminder that being a car maker in the 2020s is a challenging business without having a parent company with deep pockets, although Lotus does have that safety net these days. 

The collection is testament to the innovation of the British auto industry despite its competitive struggles.

As you walk in you are greeted by the Aston Martin Bulldog.  A 1980s effort by Aston Martin to build a supercar, powered by its traditional 5.3L V8 plus a pair of whopping great turbo chargers with 700hp, it was aborted for lack of funds at the time, with just one prototype remaining.  But in recent years, an effort was made to restore the car and set out to achieve its design target top speed of over 200mph, which it did in June 2023. 

The interior is classic Aston Martin 1980s styling, with bits borrowed from the Aston Martin Lagonda in production at the time. 

A visit to a British Motor Museum would not be complete without seeing a Mini.  And does this place deliver.  How about the 1964, 1965 and 1967 Monte Carlo Rally winners?

The Lotus marque features prominently.  A stunning Lotus 6 with the Lotus 7 standing next to it. 

The best bits of the Vauxhall collection are upstairs, with a 'Droop Snoot' and a Lotus Carlton catching my eye.

Sprinkled through all buildings are various Daimler, Rovers, Rolls Royce, Range Rover and Land Rovers that were used as official transport for the Royal Family.  Particularly, noteworthy were the Land Rover 110s and Defenders driven by Her Majesty herself around her various properties.  Note the plush interior - that is not standard for the average purchaser!

Next door to the main museum is the restoration facility and overflow storage for the collection.  Half of the ground floor is dedicated to restoration.

Upstairs is jawdropping.  Just rows of cars - three deep on each side of the aisle - which you can immerse yourself in for as long as you want.  Very few people were there, maybe only 10 including myself in a building with a couple of acres of floor space. 

Given the sheer quantity of cars, just a few highlights.  Below is the Morris 1800, nicknamed the "Land Crab" because of its unusual proportions.  This was the 1968 London to Sydney Rally car which finished second.

Burried in a row was the last 'classic' bodied Range Rover to come down the production line.  Still less than 100 miles on the odometer. 

The other half of the downstairs section is the Jaguar collection.  An astounding array of production Jaguars and race cars just stacked into a hall with only 5 people in the room. 

A LeMans Jaguar that finished fifth in the race.

A brace of D-Type Jaguars that are all place finishers in Le Mans. 

This D-Type long nose won the 1956 Reims 12 Hour Race and followed it up with 6th place at Le Mans in the same year.

Imagine man-handling a D-type at 175mph in the dark at Le Mans, sliding all over the leather padded seat.  No race shell to keep you located while slipping through a corner.  

The C-Type.  This competed in Le Mans as well in 1953 with Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt (of Colditz WW2 prison escape fame) as drivers.  The somewhat embellished story from this race was that the car was disqualified for running on the circuit in practice with the same race number on the side as another Jaguar.  Thinking that his race was done, Duncan Hamilton stayed up all night drinking to drown his sorrows, only to discover in the morning that the French officials had reinstated the car and he had to drive while somewhat inebriated. It is worth remembering that the C-Type averaged 100mph around the circuit.    

The iconic Jaguar XJS.  Its funky looks derive from the fact that it was originally intended to be mid-engined.  However, cost constraints and a change to a luxury GT focus forced the engine to be relocated to the front, with the front end styling extended to accommodate the V12 engine and the rear end modified with flying buttresses to hide the change in design spec. 

As a race car, the XJS was very successful in the 1984-1986 period with Tom Walkinshaw racing.  The car pictured below won many European Touring Car races, most notably the 1985 Spa 24 Hours plus came third at the Bathurst 1000 in the same year.   In 1985 I was at the Bathurst circuit for qualifying and the race - it just monstered everything else, with its sister car winning the race.   Its hard to describe the volume of chainsaw ripping noises this engine produces in unsilenced race trim.  This car is to blame for my expensive love of V12 cars today.

How could you not love a Jaguar V12 when you look at this video:

The Jaguar XJ220 was a 1990s era supercar.  It was a sales flop because it had the misfortune to be launched into the early 1990s recession plus the original promise of the engine being based off Jaguar's V12 failed to materialize.   The prototype in the photos below uses the 6.2L V12.  The production model used the twin turbo 3.5L V6.  Even so, thirty plus years on, this still remains the third fastest production car ever for top speed. 

Mega money for the XJ220 and still the interior is a mish-mash of parts from Ford donor vehicles!

A highlight of the exhibits is the XJ13.  Never put into production as it was unstable at speed, it is still stunning to admire today. 

The V12 in the Jaguar XJ13

Refer to Part 2 here

Continued on from Part 1

Part 2 below

Donington Park Circuit

After my exploration of the British Motor Museum, I continued on to Donington Park Circuit.  While I was here literally a week before, I had a schedule gap so decided to join a new track day group - OpenTrack - for a late season day.  

My trusty 2018 Caterham 420R made its appearance, supported as usual by TFL Racing.  They keep the car in Stratford, only an hour away from Donington.  They were supporting three Caterhams - myself and two 420 race cars.  While nominally called Caterham 420 they are not the same as the road car 420R.  They have LESS horsepower out of their 2L Duratecs at 180hp than my road car 420R which has supposedly 210hp.  The race cars are closer to the old R300 spec for a fixed one class racing code.  But as race cars they are much lighter - 60kg lighter than a road spec 420 and probably another 50kg from them being S3 chassis and mine being SV chassis.  Plus they have Sadev 6 speed sequential whereas I have the relatively track-unfriendly Miata MX5 5 speed gearbox.  The race cars have the 3.6 rear end while the road car has the 3.9 rear end - higher top speed for the race car plus better ratios to stay on the power band consistently, 

A late season, just before winter track day comes with some disadvantages.  First, its cold and damp.  There had been a lot of rain in the days preceding so there were wet spots and draining water than was not going to clear on the day I was there.   Tires don't warm up much if at all.  I am wearing layers of clothes to insulate me from the 100mph cold wind whipping across my chest.  Second, as it is usually cheap, the participating clientele is not your usual well prepared participant.  So the day was popular with various older cars that had been driven through your local Halfords (think Napa or Advance Auto) for go faster parts, in some cases taped onto the car.  Third, the drivers are not as track aware as the normal contingent thinking they are out for a bit of a laugh day.   Cars modified like this have a reputation for not being fast, not being reliable, quite evil handling, and most likely to run out of talent into a wall. 

Some people referred to the clientele as "chavs" which is a somewhat derogatory term for the lower socio-economic classes in the UK.  Personally, I preferred the well remembered words from a previous track day operator, who used to refer to the cars as "turbo nutter barges."   Both descriptions are probably accurate!

Donington is not a long circuit but its layout in a valley makes for a wonderfully flowing layout.  The run down through Craner Curves before reaching Old Hairpin is iconic, which by the way is a very fast 4th gear corner for me and definitely not a hairpin.

The circuit is located on the former grounds of a manor.  The original manor house, Donington Hall, still adjoins the circuit.  While the former gatehouse still exists on the circuit grounds, the driveway used to run across where the circuit is now laid out.  The only bit left is the old bridge which was partially demolished to make way for the circuit which runs around it. 

Despite my rubbishing of the overall quality of cars earlier, there were exceptions.  This VW Golf (turbo I think - it was indecently quick) and BMW E30 were well prepared and well driven.

Because there were a number of participants who were not used to driving on track, their awareness of a Caterham approaching quickly from behind was non-existent.  This led to some frustrating trains of cars in the morning where point bys were just not happening.  So the TFL Caterham drivers latched on to the strategy for the day.  We would blast up behind an unsuspecting hot hatch and make a move to pass without waiting for the point by.  This would cause the driver being passed to slightly freak out and jink right allowing us to pass on the left in the somewhat prescribed manner.  On most UK track days, passing is on the left, on the straights, only via consent - i.e. point by.  Clearly some rules were going to be broken. 

But it worked.  I was able to navigate traffic cleanly and keep up respectable lap times and begin to enjoy myself. 

This splotch of water at the chicane never cleared all day but you could thread the needle through the chicane without it being a problem.

This chap below, with his instructor, was on his first track day.  Bit of a daunting task on a day like this with cold damp conditions.  But apart from one spin, he did well and was driving nice lines by the end of the day. 

The accident and breakdown rate was high.  There were a lot of red flags to recover broken cars and those where the driver had run out of talent.   No chance our erstwhile Lewis Hamilton below is escaping that beach with an 80s era Renault shopping cart. 

This chap lost his hot hatch in Craner Curves and taken a big hit into the wall and bounced back a long way.  You can see the tire marks where he left the track at left and discovered to his horror that on wet grass cars speed up even if you are on the brake. 

In the meantime, the sensible cars stayed out lapping consistently. 

Goodwood Motor Circuit

Most automotive enthusiasts have heard of the Goodwood Revival and Goodwood Festival of Speed held annually.  But you may not know the history behind Goodwood.    In World War 2, this was the site of RAF Westhampnett airfield, which being sited close to the English Channel was well placed for Spitfires and Hurricanes to take off for air operations against Germany. 

In 1947, the circuit was laid out around the perimeter road around the former RAF airfield.  The airfield is still active today for civilian purposes as the Chichester/Goodwood Airport.  The first race meeting was held September 18, 1948. 

This circuit is completely separate to the hillclimb course (first used in 1936) which is located a short distance away at Goodwood House.

Goodwood Circuit became famous for its non-championship Formula 1 race, plus its sports car sprint and endurance races.  The career of Stirling Moss was ended here after a crash at St Mary's corner in 1962.  Bruce McLaren died on the Lavant Straight in 1970 after the rear bodywork on his McLaren M8D Can-Am car failed.   The fearsome reputation of this circuit led it to ceasing racing in 1966 as the organizers did not want to modify the track with more chicanes to control the speeds that cars were beginning to achieve.  The last Formula 1 race in 1965 saw the final lap record of 1 minute 20.4 seconds set by both Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark.   Interestingly that is considered a very good lap for a Caterham 420 race car today at Goodwood. 

Because the circuit shut for racing in 1966, the facilities were only being used for testing and private events.  This led to his historical character being preserved beautifully.  Just walking around, you feel the ghosts of past around you. 

All the buildings are as they were in the 1960s.  Well maintained, exquisitely landscaped.  It allows an event like Goodwood Revival to work so well as you can re-image yourself back to the 1960s. 

The pits are small.  The traditional pit lane on the circuit is tiny.  It feels tight for two Caterhams side by side.  How they changed tires or refueled in the middle of a race beggars belief. 

The paddock behind the pits is laid out in a series of three "U" shaped car ports.  Given the wind and rain they afforded no shelter from the elements.

As you can see from the photos already, it was wet.  Biblically wet.  It had bucketed down the previous few days but the night before it rained inches.  There was standing water on the roads on my drive to Goodwood.  

TFL Racing were supporting me for the day.  They had five Caterhams driving.  Twenty cars were signed up.  Maximum of ten on the circuit at any one time.

I took the appearance of the rainbow to be that the weather could only get better.

As you can see the carport paddock shelters were mostly useless.  Water was flowing through as it drained off.  Race boots were soggy in less than 2 minutes.  

Now keen eyed observers will have noticed something important about the tires in the above photo.  The red and white car has full race wets on with a nice deep chunky tread pattern. 

By contrast Doofus Me in the silver 420R below has his Avon ZZS tires on which are marginal for the extremely wet conditions I was facing. And I knew it! 

Some optimistic driver had his slicks standing by but they were never going to be used in the conditions.  The two Caterhams with the full race wets were the fastest things on track by a long way.  Next fastest was me but it was a challenge.  

The layout of Goodwood as a perimeter road around an airfield can be seen in the following map.  It is fearsomely fast.  In the dry, a fast 420R would be close to a 95mph average over the course of a lap.  This is Spa-Francochamps type of speedsw with none of the safety.  On the left, most of the way around, is a human height earth/tire embankment only around 10 feet from the left hand track edge.  If you went off on my day, you would not be able to blink before you hit it.  There would be no chance of stopping.  Going off right is a much more preferable option as this is just grassy meadows.  However, it is a clockwise course and so centrifugal speeds are most likely to spit you off left. 

For me, there would be streams across the track at Madgwick and after Fordwater, at around the 06 Runway marker area - keep your wheels straight as you blast through.  Huge pools of standing water between Woodcote and the Chicane.  The double apex Lavant was just evil forcing you to be super slow and super smooth to avoid going off.  Another Caterham came to grief here in the afternoon on the exit of Lavant.  The ripped up aluminum skin on the rear basket told me clearly the embankment walls were not friendly to impacts. 

To get on track you need to get your car noise tested.  Because I did not want to get my hair wet, I borrowed an umbrella and went over to the paddling pool where the poor noise check guys were wading around cars. 

Despite having the 92db twin muffler set up, designed for UK track days, I recorded a 97db reading and was allowed on despite the limit being 98db.  The noise guys blamed it on their old equipment.  Either way, I had my car sticker and wrist band. 

Fortunately there was a nice lounge space adjoining the pit lane with complimentary coffee and tea to warm yourself back up.  This wood engraving was on the wall. 

Most of us have watched a Goodwood event on this circuit at some point.  I was disoriented as it looks nothing like that to drive it.   I felt it was far more enclosed - high embankment and trees to the left made me feel crowded in.  The corners bore no relationship to what I saw on TV  in the past.  This was a first as most circuits drive like you see them on TV, not for me at Goodwood. 

To give you some context for driving this track, I have a one lap video with annotations so you know where you are.  Usual excuses apply, it was epically wet, large portions of the left side of the track had lots of wet leaves there, I was on tires that were probably not well suited for the conditions, and it was my first time out on this circuit.   Apologies but there is no sound as the water fried the microphone!

Driving in the rain or wet standing water conditions requires a major adjustment in driving style.  My car has no front anti roll bar so it is softer, leans more and accentuates the weight transfer across the wheels thereby improving grip in margin conditions.  I tend to stick the car in a taller gear through corners to avoid spinning up the tires on exit.  At Goodwood I was staying mostly in 4th gear with a change to 3rd for the chicane as it was painfully slow.  High revs is a no-go as you could wheelspin in 4th gear over 6000rpm on the Lavant Straight or the stretch between Madgwick and Fordwater, given the circuit is quite bumpy, as befits its character. My usual approach of trail braking in a corner gets minimized back to getting my braking done in a straight line before turning the wheel to make the weight transfers around the car as smooth as possible.  I could still get away with trail braking into Woodcote for the first part of the turn but could not get it to work at the Lavant corner as the grip was a lot worse there on the day.  Stay off the curbs as these are usually painted in some latex type of gloss paint which becomes slippery as they get wet.  The join between the tarmac and the curb is also usually depressed so is a spot to expect water to accumulate - something to avoid. 

Most importantly, I drive an unconventional line.  The track maps pictured in this article all show a qualifying dry line around the circuit.  Its a qualifying line as there is no adjustment for defending against other cars trying to pass.  Those track maps assume you are out there on your own trying to set fastest lap.  For wet weather, the fastest line will be where the grip is.  The video shows me taking an early right hand side entry to Madgwick to avoid a drainage stream on the left.  In the dry I would be on the left side of the track and take a later turn in.  I constrain my exits to stay away from the wet track edges where there are pools of standing water.  After Madgwick and all the way down to Fordwater there was a line of wet leaves on the left side of the track along with lots of standing water both right and left.  Wet leaves are lethal to grip so I know to keep away from them.   I adjust the line to navigate between various water puddles - the chicane was a particularly good example of this as there was standing water on the left at the foam wall and then 5 feet of puddles on the right at the exit.  Threading the needle with an exaggerated 'Z' line was the best solution I could devise there.   But the line I was on had grip and I could maintain a decent speed - about 3rd or 4th fastest car on the day.  The two fastest were the two Caterhams on full race wets.  The next fastest was a close call between myself and an AWD Audi TT coupe demonstrating how good AWD systems are in conditions where grip is problematic.    The slowest car was a Porsche GT3RS which was ambling around.  All drivers were showing a very healthy respect for the conditions and were driving appropriately.  The contrast to the previous day at Donington was remarkable! 

Some photos of me circulating in the rain.  Below is the exit of Woodcote, heading towards the Chicane and the pits in the distance.  Look at the pools of water on the left.

Exiting Madgwick Corner off the Start/Finish Straight.

Turning into Madgwick, with the start/finish line in the background, plus the pit lane.

Coming through the first portion of Lavant.

On the Lavant Straight. Note the high embankment wall to my right, the other side of which is the airfield.  You would not want to hit that wall. 

Coming through the second part of Woodcote. 

Coming through the chicane onto the start/finish line area.  The chicane is actually made out of poly-styrene bricks.  So if you hit it you will live and your car should be dented but overall able to continue.  Up until the mid-1970s, this chicane was brick!  Given how tight it is, I am amazed no one was killed by hitting the brick wall that used to be there. 

The day I was running there was standing water on the left as you entered and on the right as you exited.  This led to a sort of very slow Z shaped line through the chicane to avoid the water.  

Don't I make lovely reflections in the pools of water as I drive by.  The joke on the day was that we were doing 'Queen Mother laps' because of the conditions.  What this really meant was that we would do very slow, regal, parade laps, before finishing up early for a triple gin and tonic. 

Going past the pits in the following photo.   

In the end I put in close to three hours and knocked over the better part of two full tanks of fuel.  I was cold, very wet, and in need of a warming drink but very happy.  Despite the conditions, I loved the circuit.  Its old school, raw, unfiltered and unforgiving of mistakes.  I definitely will go back one day to try for a dry day.   Goodwood does not offer many track days as it is expensive and with only 20 cars, hard to make pay.  They book out with a lot of corporate entertaining days who are less price sensitive.  May take a few years to find the right opportunity to come back.  One day....

Links

TFL Racing

https://www.tflracing.co.uk/

Visiting Portugal for Portimao and Estoril for track days

RSR Spa Portugal Track Days

In April I made the pilgrimage to Portugal for a three-day track event with RSR – Ron Simons Racing.  RSR is famous for their Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps operations where you can rent their cars for the track and do their track days.  I once rented an Alfa 75 from RSR in the early 1990’s to learn the Nürburgring, so they know the track business.

RSR track days are high-end events.  A fitted-out driver lounge with refreshments and snacks throughout the day.  Lunch is catered for.  In the European style, alcohol (wine and beer) is available to partake at lunch).  A champagne reception happens at the end of the last day.  Majority of the cars are late model road or race Porsches.  This is no guarantee of driving standards though after my experience of last October when in two days, 8 Porsches were written off at Spa-Francorchamps.   RSR had approximately 20 rental Porsches present that they had trucked to Portugal for customers.  The rest were those who either drove to the circuit or had arranged a truck delivery. 

Two circuits were on offer this trip.  Two days at Autodromo Internacional Algarve, also commonly known at Portimao Circuit, and one day at Estoril Circuit, located on the western outskirts of Lisbon.   My plan was to fly into Lisbon, pick up the rental car and head 2.5 hours south to the Algarve, complete the Portimao days, then drive north to Cascais where I would base myself for the Estoril day. 

I had been here previously with a rental Caterham back in 2017 and the Portimao Circuit made such an impression that I vowed to come back one day.  2024 saw me live up to that promise.

The Algarve

I arrived slightly early to have a weekend to knock off jetlag by staying in Lagos, about a 20-minute drive from the Portimao Circuit.  If you have the time, then this is a good place to base yourself and explore.  The coastline here is famous for its beaches, sea caves, dolphins, and stunning scenery. 

While I initially spent the weekend on the beach at Lagos, I shifted to the Portimao Race Resort next to the circuit to make it an easier commute for the two days.  While it does have spectacular views of the circuit, there is a lack of quality dining options.  I would have been better to stay in Lagos where I was – hindsight is easy!

Portimao Circuit

This circuit was completed in 2008.  For a new circuit it is totally old school.  Lots of blind crests and an interesting mix of fast sweepers and slow turns to make it technical and challenging as a driver.  Some seriously major elevation changes make it somewhat a rollercoaster of a ride.  While it did host a Formula 1 race during the Covid era, it is more well known for being a round of the World Superbike Championships. 

The track layout begins with a deceptively fast right-hand sweeper that was best taken (for me) by dropping a gear, followed by a full throttle right sweeper before hard on the brakes and down a gear for a tight right hairpin, then sweep steeply uphill to the left where the exit is blind, and the car wants to rotate left as you crest the hill while apply throttle.  A short straight then steeply downhill braking zone leading into a left-hand hairpin.  Uphill past the media center accelerating hard with a mild left sweep before pivoting the car for a very far right downhill.  Then hard on the brakes for a 120 degree right steep uphill.  Again, on exit, its blind but you accelerate hard over the crest then steeply down through a left sweeper, hard on throttle the entire way, before swooping upwards over a blind crest, to a plateau where you brake hard to make the right.  This plateau is rather featureless which makes it challenging to pick out the braking and turn in points.  Immensely satisfying when you get it right.  Then exit steep downhill for another down and up swooping sweeper to the left where there is a sharp brake for the 140-degree left tight hairpin.  Next is a downhill off camber right-hander leading to a short straight where you build speed for the very fast right-hander swoop down to the main straight.  Just a brilliant use of elevation and challenging corners.  Huge g-forces from the turns, I felt sore the next morning. 

There were 60 cars signed up.  Open pit lane format usually only means half that number are on track at any one time.  On a 3-mile circuit that’s not bad.  The usual exceptions apply – first 30-40 minutes plus the hour after lunch are when everyone goes out.  Common sense says to avoid that period as it is slightly nuts. 

It was a Porsche benefit event.  Two-thirds of the cars were Porsche.  We had fun trying to calculate the value of the cars in the fleet, but it was over ten million dollars. 

The format of the day was open pit lane.  The first 20 mins was a beginner session of passing only on the straight to allow people time to familiarize themselves with the layout before allowing full passing.  In practice, by lap two the usual passing rules applied – pass anywhere with a point by and even then the point by was not waited for.  Complicating things, there was confusion by some people using hazards to indicate their slow vehicles.  You had to have your wits about you as the closing speeds were epically quick.  A pro McLaren GT race car and some Porsche Cup race cars that were doing some testing ahead of that weekend’s race event were pulling very quick times.  It was hard to spot them early enough in the mirrors to keep out of the way. 

I was in my usual Caterham 420R.  It had been trucked out by TFL Racing from their base in the Midlands in the United Kingdom along with 5 other customer cars – four other Caterhams and one Porsche 718 GT4.

It is the usual road going 420R SV.  2L Duratec with 210hp.  Five speed Miata box.  3.9 rear end.  Track suspension pack.  Upgraded with some quality Tillet carbon seats plus the track day cage which I put on last year after some organizers started mandating cages on Caterhams. 

The letdown of the car package is the five-speed gearbox.  It really lacks gear options, and the spread of ratios has some big gaps where the rev drop is not optimal.  Fifth gear is an overdrive and is not always usable on track as it can make the car go slower if there is a gradient. 

I made it worse for myself by somehow bending the 5^th gear selector fork in the opening lap.  No idea how.  Never done it before.  Over 35 years and 100,000 miles on track and I made a complete hash of it.  Unfortunately, the fix is gearbox out and that was not going to happen.  The only practical solution was to limit myself to 1^st through 4^th gears and a redline of 7000rpm.  That meant I was only about 120 mph maximum along the straights.  I was always going to get gobbled up at Portimao as that long straight is well suited to the Porsches.  The rest of the circuit suited the Caterhams as it was tight and technical, but the advantage was lost at the straight.  Overall assessment – it was a bias towards favoring the Porsches. 

The other TFL supported Caterhams are mostly 420 race cars.  The same 2L Duratec but with a Sadev sequential.  There was one road Caterham there – another 420R like mine but he had the 6 speed Caterham gearbox.  Same engine as mine but when I followed, I would watch him walk away from me out of corners as he was able to use the closer ratio gear set to get the engine into the optimal rev range. 

TFL Racing

TFL Racing have supported me for quite a few years.  Both Phill and Sarah were at Bookatrack who I had used as my track day operator and rental Caterham supplier for 10 years before it changed hands, so it was an easy thing for me to shift to TFL to be my track day support business.  Many of the former Bookatrack customers are still around at TFL which makes it fun.   TFL are one of the bigger operators in the UK for race and track day support, handling something like 30 Caterhams and the odd Radical or Atom. 

The best bit about going to an event like this with TFL Racing is that they take care of the small details.  Both Sarah and Phill sort out the scheduling, suggest possible places to stay near the circuit, facilitate booking with track day organizers, deal with any European import issues, prepare the car, fuel it and maintain it on the day, and most important supply the drivers with tea and biscuits (cookies for the Americans).   I know most of the other customers from past track events, so it is very social during the day which makes it far more enjoyable.  A secret bonus is that Sarah was a very handy racer in a Caterham and so knows the circuits well if you want to tap into her experience of learning the lines.  All you need to do is turn up with your driving kit of helmet, gloves, suitable clothes/race suit, driving boots, and a pack of biscuits to keep Phill happy and snacking all day. 

If you want to rent a fully prepared and supported Caterham for a track day, then TFL have a nice looking Caterham 420 race car ready to go.  Some USA7s members did a share rental for four days at Spa-Francorchamps last year and one lucky USA7s member has booked it for Spa in October this year.  Obviously prices are not cheap but for the true driving enthusiast who wants to experience a bucket list circuit like Portimao, Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort, Brands Hatch GP, etc., then this is one of the only makes to make it happen. 

The Portimao Pits

The quality of cars in the pits was tremendous.  Lots of quality items to mentally shop for as you wandered the pits.

Two BAC Monos were present.  While I had come across these before, my experience was most watching them break down, usually from electrical issues, and being towed back into the pits.  Not the case with these ones – well prepared and perfectly reliable.  Loved the engineering on them.  Blisteringly quick too. 

Normally, most track days I do have restrictive noise limits. Not so at Portimao where there was a 130db limit.  Even unsilenced Porsche Cup cars would not have failed.  So that saw a lot of owners drop their track day silencers.  This one fell off a 718 Cayman GT4.

I had a chance to check out a KTM X-Bow in person.  Never seen one in real life before.  Very chunky design.  Audi A4 drivetrain with a 320hp turbocharged 2L 4-cylinder with a 6-speed manual gearbox.  So it was quick.  But I found I could slightly out brake it in my Caterham and I thought I was having less issues in the corners than it was.  I would not mind having a drive though!

Some other expensive toys.

In the pits next door was a Maserati coupe race car.  It was so heavy that it needed three guys to make the thing move when pushing.  My Caterham could easily catch and pass it.  He started braking a full 200 feet before I did into the hairpin.  It seemed to have regular electrical fails.  You could smell its brakes half a circuit away.  The end of the day was when it arrived in a cloud of steam.  Oh well.

Unreliability did strike the Caterhams of TFL too.  On the morning of the second day, one of the 420 race cars lost an alternator belt which as it was escaping bent the alternator bracket.  Later, the same car dropped a valve.  It had been a long time since the last engine refresh, so these things are expected.  Then the other road Caterham lost its clutch while out on the circuit and was towed back in.  That car was out of action for the next circuit but its owner had a backup plan to be back out on track at Estoril.   This is the catch with long distance track days.  There are no guarantees that something will not go wrong but at least with a professional operator like TFL you have a fighting chance of getting back in the game.   

Some video to give you an idea.  True to form, I selected the wrong microphone setting on the camera so there is no sound.  There is however data. 

This was my fastest session of the two days where I did a 2min7 lap.  To put that in context, a 420 race car did a 2min neat lap around the same time.  The 7 second gap is about right if you deduct from my time:

-              The race car’s 6 speed sequential gear box where you use 2-3-4-5-6 gears while I only have 2-3-4.

-              The race car had Avon F3 slicks on while my road car had Avon ZZR extreme compound – that’s 2-3 seconds a lap alone.

-              The race car has a 3.6 rear end ratio which gives it roughly 10mph higher top end speed.

-              The race car is a race S3 chassis while mine is a road SV chassis so that is a 185-pound weight advantage.

It just goes to show how much difference there is between Caterham race and road cars.  

Unfortunately, the video does have the effect of flattening the elevation change.  It looks a lot flatter than it really is in real life.  You can also see me start to go to change to 5^th gear from habit then have to stop myself.  I want a lot more seat time around there.  I was still experimenting on lines by the end of the second day and from reviewing some of the data this week, some of the really optimal lines are not the most logical.

Brilliant circuit.  One of my top 5 circuits anywhere in the world (which are Bathurst, Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort, Dijon-Prenois, Portimao).

Part 2 of this Article is located here:

Visiting Portugal for Portimao and Estoril for track days - Part 2

Part 1 of this 2 part article is located here:

Continuing on with Part 2

Heading Back North to Cascais

Next morning it was the drive back north through Lisbon and out to the western fringes for Cascais. 

This seaside town is an upmarket part of Lisbon.  Its only 15-minute drive to the Estoril Circuit with plenty of good hotel and dining options available. 

Estoril Circuit

Like Portimao, I was last here in 2017.  This circuit has a long and prestigious history.  It was the home of the Portuguese Formula 1 Grand Prix from 1984 to 1996.  It still hosts major events such as the FIA World Touring Car Cup, European Le Mans Series, and the FIM Endurance World Championship.  

It’s a shorter track at 2.6 miles than Portimao.  While it has some elevation, it is nowhere near as pronounced as the Portimao circuit. 

The track has a long straight past the pits ending with a downhill braking zone into turn 1.  A medium downhill right-hander which opens on exit to a downhill section under the spectator bridge to turn 2 which is a very fast 4^th gear (for me) right-hander. 

Still downhill you brake for the right hairpin which launches you uphill steeply.  Lots of camber change in the track surface which makes it easy to unsettle the car and have the rear end break loose.  Then it’s a tight left hairpin at Curva VIP which opens out on to the back straight.

There is a right kink but in reality, it’s a non-event as you never lift or brake.  Then it is a hard brake for a long 180-degree left hairpin.

Slightly downhill on exit to Orelha corner which is a open right hander.  A short straight then kick right to Gancho which is a tight uphill chicane/reverse Z corner.  This leads out into what is called the Esses but is in reality a curving section of track leading into a conventional, albeit bumpy, 90-degree left which throws you into the right-handed Parabolica Ayrton Senna leading onto the main straight.  This last corner was great fun in a Caterham.  You just kept adding power and the car would grip while the rear end slowly yawed out as more speed was added.  Probably the primary cause of my tire moment late in the day. 

Overall assessment is that it favors the Caterham.  Lots of tight technical work with limited ability for a Porsche to put its power down and assert an advantage in a straight line.  At the Parabolica it was especially pronounced as the Porsches took wider lines to add speed and I would slip down the inside and easily get away from them – briefly – for they would catch me back on the straight.   

There were only three Caterhams running Estoril.  The rental 420 race car was in the truck, so it was brought out for the individual who lost their clutch in their Caterham at Portimao.  This was a great outcome for him as it kept him having fun on a good circuit. 

Having someone in the rental 420 race car was a bonus for me as we could have a game of track tag.  In theory, he should have got away from me but I had prior experience here which counts for something. 

The TFL rental Caterham 420 race car returning to the pits.

Some video of some of the track tag fun before I had to break off for a loose item in the cockpit.  Some of you know this already but for those who do not, I cannot heel and toe this Caterham SV.  I can heel and toe in any other car, or even a Caterham S3 (yes I fit despite being “chunky”) but this one Caterham SV pedal box escapes me – the gap between the brake and accelerator is just too wide for my foot.  One day I need to spend a day in the TFL workshop modifying it to work for me like I have done with my US cars.   At least I got decent audio on this video.

I definitely want more time on track around here.  There are some quirks of the track that should unlock more time. 

Here is some more video of my last session of the day.  As you can see the tail happy nature of the car got more pronounced as the session went on.  Last corner before I came in felt especially lively.

There was a reason for that tail happiness.  Oops!  Delamination time at 4:15pm on the last day.  These Avon ZZR Extremes were brand new at Portimao.  

Wrap Up

Another superb RSR event.  These events are not cheap but offer an incredible quality of track time with the open pit lane format.  It was just an incredible experience to get back to Portimao – took me 7 years!

If you want to try some bucket list tracks in the UK or Europe, get in touch and I can lay out the options.  They are not cheap sadly but sometimes bucket list items must be crossed off our lists.

Links

TFL Racing

https://www.tflracing.co.uk/

Autodromo Internacional Algarve

https://autodromodoalgarve.com/

Estoril Circuit

https://www.circuito-estoril.pt/en/

Attachment - RSR trip flyer

RSR Portugal Trip Flyer and Maps.pdf