Last week I had my long overdue trip to France to revisit Circuit Dijon-Prenois plus sample Mas Du Clos Park Circuit for the first time. 

For those geographically challenged, Dijon is in the rough center of France.  About a 3.5 to 4 hour drive south of Paris or the same distance west of Geneva. Switzerland.  Mas Du Clos is a further 3.5 hour drive west of Dijon.   

I last did a track day in France back in 2015 – link to article below.

While I got to try out Magny-Cours Circuit, I would not recommend it much.  Too much zig zagging back and forth across a small piece of acreage.  By contrast, Dijon Circuit was a gem.  A flowing piece of asphalt that utilized significant elevation change with fast momentum style sweepers.  It is an epic drive in a Caterham.

First opened in 1972, the circuit has hosted the French Grand Prix five times and the Swiss Grand Prix once in 1982.   Now the obvious question arises here – why would a Swiss Grand Prix be held in the country of France?  That is because the Swiss Government banned motor racing following the catastrophe of the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans where 83 people died after a race car crashed and vaulted into the pit straight grandstand. 

Today the track is still used for many first class events, including FIA GT racing.

So why would I ever want to come to Circuit Dijon-Prenois?  

That’s because in 1979 I watched the French Grand Prix which was a thriller for the intense battle in the closing laps between Gilles Villeneuve and Rene Arnoux where they swapped positions several times and did a lot of wheel banging as they fought for second place (as the race was ultimately won by Jean-Pierre Jabouille in a Renault). 

It took 8 years but I was back at Dijon.

If you are thinking of coming to this circuit, then the most important thing to keep in mind is it is in the middle of the Burgundy wine region.  Dijon is largish industrial city and while it has some charm, you would be better served to find a little village in the wine region and enjoy some time sampling the wine.

Beaune, France

So that is what I did – staying in Beaune – roughly 40 minutes south of Circuit Dijon.  Beaune is the wine capital of Burgundy.  The town is a walled city with roughly half of the walls still intact plus some of the moat.  The old town within dating back to the 15^th century is well preserved.   

Circuit Dijon-Prenois

The circuit is laid out into the hills about Dijon.  It has elevation in spades which is the key to why I like it so much. 

Do not look at the track map and think that looks boring – its most definitely not. 

The day was being organized by Lotus On Track Club.   They specialize in track days for smaller, lighter cars with an emphasis on handling.  The cars that turn up are your class Lotus Elige types, but you also see a healthy dose of se7ens and Alpine A110s. 

A nicely prepared Duratec Westfield with the FX body style.

TFL Racing was again supporting me on this trip.  They had four Caterhams running the Dijon and Mas Du Clos days.  But they also had two other race cars (one being the hire Caterham 420 race car) in the truck as they were heading on after Mas Du Clos to Paul Ricard Circuit in the south of France to support a TFL customer who was running in a Caterham race that weekend.  Having the hire car along as a spare was later to prove very fortunate for one TFL customer as it was raided for spares to keep that customer on track. 

TFL Racing is a sizable operation run by Phill and Sarah, who I have known for over 10 years dating back to their earlier Bookatrack UK involvement.  They are now one of the largest Caterham support operators in the UK with something like 30 odd cars being supported for either track days or Caterham race series.  They even support Atoms and Radicals although Phill is partial to his preferred racing fix – VW Fun Cup race cars – each to their own I suppose!

If you want to try something like this then they have the Caterham 420 race car for hire for track days.  A few USA7s club members have rented it over the last few years to tick off their European circuit bucket list must-dos. 

I had my 2018 Caterham 420R trucked out by TFL.  An SV road car with the 2L Duratec with 210hp paired with the Mazda Miata/MX5 five speed gearbox.  Not ideal for track work as the road car chassis is 85kg/187 pounds heavier than a pure Caterham race chassis.  Further, the 5-speed gearbox is not ideal for ratios compared with the 6 speed Sadev sequential you find in the race cars.  On these French tracks I was mostly third and fourth gear with one use of second gear on one corner.  At Dijon I could go for fifth gear on the long straight, but it only added a little extra top end given it is an overdrive fifth.   

There was also a Caterham Superlight R present – one of the numbered limited edition series. 

Loved the number plate on that one!

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative.  Rain most of the day.   Brief breaks of overcast with damp track interspersed with monsoonal rain.  Fortunately, the pits provided some shelter.  The photos show it well – standing water in many of the on-track photos. 

This Porsche 356 was a true survivor.  Used for historical racing, they were doing a test day.  However, it was slow.  I misjudged how slow by coming up behind it on the straight and was astounded when I went past at warp speed.  Lovely car though. 

Given the cold wet conditions I stayed on Avon ZZS tires for the day as that was my intermediate wet solution.  One other TFL customer tried his full wet solution out (race wets), but he found himself steering towards standing water to prevent the tires from overheating. 

Fortunately, TFL Racing kept us well supplied with tea and biscuits and fuel.

No photos of me on track as I was huddling in the pits when the photographer was out in the monsoon.  However, one short video of the car coming along the main straight is below.

The day was not a complete bust.  At 3.30pm the track was dry and the sky cleared.  I had 45 minutes of having a proper go of it.  A great finish to the day. 

Aubusson

Next day it was a transit day to drive over to Aubusson, the closest town to Mas Du Clos.  Home of tapestry apparently.  Lots of matronly women wandering around obviously enjoying things.  Nice town although lacking in the quality restaurant area – the town felt very quiet after dark. 

Transit Day Repairs

One advantage of coming on a trip like this with TFL Racing is the support you get.  One TFL customer with a 620R lost drive at Dijon and was towed back in late in the day. 

Phill of TFL took the truck to the Mas Du Clos pits and proceeded to diagnose the problem – broken clutch.  He used the hydraulic tailgate on the truck to lift the engine and gearbox out of the car, replace the clutch with one scavenged from the hire Caterham and put it all back together so the customer could have his day of fun at Mas Du Clos.

This is harder than it sounds as the controls for the tailgate were at one end of the tailgate and the hauling point for the engine was at the other – one person doing this remember.   Assume the Lotus position I suppose!

Worst case the hire car could have been rolled out for the customer to have a drive.  This is why I like the support you get on a long trip.  There are no guarantees it won’t all go wrong on a long trip from the UK to the continent but at least you have stacked some odds in your favor with a quality operator. 

Fortunately, my car was trouble free, but it is reassuring to see things like this happen and get resolved. 

Part 2 of the article continues here:

Part 2 of the article continues on below.

Mas Du Clos Park Circuit

This circuit was originally created in the 1960s by Pierre Bardinon who wanted to have a private track to drive his Ferrari collection.  How significant was this collection?   Well Enzo Ferrari was once asked why Ferrari did not have a museum for its cars.  Enzo replied he did, it was in France at Mas Du Clos. 

Pierre Bardinon purchased his collection in the 1960s and 1970s when the cars were cheap.   At one point he had 300 Ferraris and another 200 non-Ferraris.  His most famous cars?  A 335S The 1958 Le Mans winner), four 250 GTOs, a 330 P4, 290MM, a 375 Plus and so on. 

Pierre died in 2012 and unfortunately to pay the French government taxes, the collection was sold by the family.  Reputedly only 20 cars are left in the care of his son, Patrick Bardinon.  The collection resides in the family chateau on the Mas Du Clos property.

The Mas Du Clos circuit adjoins the chateau.  You can drive out of the garage onto the circuit - chateau is the cluster of buildings at bottom right. 

The circuit was closed in 2010 as upgrade in FIA track safety regulations deemed it unsafe.  Mind you, the original layout did have a corner where you aimed at a building (The Restaurant) that was hard up against the Armco.  So it was no surprise that some upgrades were needed.  Unfortunately, the Bardinon family were not willing to pay at the time.

However, those upgrades were completed by 2022 and the circuit reopened under the operation of Alexandre Bardinon – grandson of the original founder. 

The circuit is laid out in a valley below the chateau.  You will not find a prettier circuit setting in the world.  There is huge elevation change on this circuit – characteristic of all the great circuits of the world.

The photo below shows turn 1 around the rocky outcrop, with the terrain dropping off steeply on the outside of the corner. 

This is a rare photo as it shows the new layout changes made for safety.  The newer dark track surface is the new chicane layout that keeps the track well away from the chateau outbuildings.  The lighter worn track surface is the original track layout that went hard up against the buildings (bottom left of photo). 

Like most track maps there is zero appreciation of the elevation changes. 

Here is the main straight leading into turn 1 – a steep uphill approach.

However, then you come out around the other side of the rocky hill only to be faced with what looks like a ski jump.

In real life it does not feel that wild but it is a rollercoaster 2 mile track.  This is looking back along the main straight towards the chateau.

The pits are period correct – cramped and sloping.  There are no food facilities here.  Closest food is back in Aubusson, fifteen minute drive away.

Fortunately, Phill of TFL Racing had scored prime position in the top pit paddock with epic views over the circuit and the valley below.

Some video of cars from the pits

Some on track photos courtesy of a track photographer present.  The track is so tightly laid out into its setting that there is no way to walk around the outside of the circuit.  The track would throw a full course yellow flag (slow down – no passing).  The photographer would then get in their SUV with hazards flashing and drive around the circuit until the next photo point.  Then the on-track action would resume. 

Part 3 of the article continues here

Continuing on from Part 2 of this article which was here

Part 3 continues below

I had such fun I had an Avon ZZS tire blow apart on me. It was the least loaded side of the least loaded front tire, so it was a manufacturing fault as the carcass had bubbled up.  Did not feel a thing while out on track driving and only noticed it once out of the car in the pits.

Never mind, as this gave me a chance to try out the new Toyo R888R tires which are the temporary replacement to my preferred dry tires, Avon ZZR Extremes.  The weather behaved so that allowed a good test of them.  Think I will go for a hand grooved slick next time.  UK/European track day rules are for road tires – ungrooved slicks are not allowed unless it were a test day. 

A short video of on track driving.  It was my last session of the day.  Messed up the audio somehow – apologies for the wind noise.  Took a rock in the lens so you will see some reflections from crack.  The video flattens out the elevation changes, but it will give you a taste of the track.

The track is incredibly bumpy in places so it’s difficult to hang onto the throttle as the car is being thrown around – just look at the steering wheel movement on the back straight.  Incredibly tight corners at the top part of the circuit near the chateau.   But is enormous fun in a Caterham – well suited to the track.

Wrap Up

Lotus on Track did it again.  Lots of fast smaller good handling cars is a recipe for quality track time.  Totally thrilled to get back to Dijon and try out Mas Du Clos for the first time.  Will be going back there again when I can. 

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.

Spa-Francorchamps is coming up for October 2024.  Two days booked with GoldTrack - a quality UK track day operator.  A USA7s member has booked the TFL rental Caterham.  Who else wants to try it out?

Links

TFL Racing

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

Lotus on Track

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

Circuit Dijon-Prenois

https://www.circuit-dijon-prenois.com/

Mas Du Clos Park Circuit

https://www.masduclos.com/accueil-circuit

If women can have spa treatments, men should too.  Spa-Francorchamps is my chosen spa treatment thanks.

I try to get here once a year for 2 days or more.  This October it was with Goldtrack.  They are an outfit I have been running track days with for 15 years, concentrated in the UK or western continental Europe area. 

The circuit is in Belgium, about 1.5 hours east of Brussels airport.  This is USA7s so I will assume if you are visiting you are coming from the USA and it will be the usual overnight flights that arrive early in the morning.  You roll through the usual immigration formalities but with a difference.  When I get asked why would I bother coming to Belgium, I explain its for a track day at Spa-Francorchamps.  It never fails to get those immigration officers excited.  You can actually see them think "Wow!  Someone actually wanted to come to Belgium!"   Its a change I suppose as the country was expressly created for being a place for other countries to come and fight wars - Britain, France, Prussia/Germany, the Dutch, etc.

Speaking of which, because I rolled out of Bwussels airport at 9am in the morning, I drove the 20 miles to the Battle of Waterloo historical site to explore.   Good way to absorb some time. 

I like to start my Spa-Francochamps visit off by getting in a day early to do a track walk and blow the jet lag away.  #exerciseforthefatbloke

Its free access.  You park at the designated lots just outside the Ster Gate and walk on in.  There is a pathway that weaves around the entire circuit.  The terrain is exceptionally rugged reflecting the elevation changes on the circuit. 

Of course, afterwards, once you have worked up a thirst (Belgian beer is world-renowned you know), you can always adjourn to the circuit bar, atop the F1 Pits complex.  The gift shop is also here but I will warn you, it is NOT cheap.

So what if you wish to come here and try your skills out on a world class drivers' track like Spa-Francorchamps?

Well, there are options for renting cars.  RSR Spa have a very good selection available from their magnificent on-site facility (website at references section at end).  A number of USA7s members have rented from them over the years.  I once rented an Alfa 75 from RSR Nurburg back in the early 1990s.  They can also provide instruction. 

But this is USA7s, so you will want a seven.  That leaves you with one option really - TFL Racing UK.  They now have two rental Caterhams.  There is a Caterham 420 race car.  Its the same formula as the old R300 race model - a 180hp Duratec, 6 speed sadev, S3 chassis, full cage, stripped out to save weight.  It has been rented by a number of USA7s folk over the years at a number of locations but mostly Spa.  They also now have recently acquired a Caterham 360 race car as a rental.  150hp Duratec S3 chassis. 

But this is Spa - try for the 420 race car  - the Kemmel straight is very long. 

TFL Racing UK is based in the midlands around Stratford UK.  Phill and Sarah look after 40+ Caterhams (including mine) and will usually be trucking a number of Caterhams to various circuits at any point during the year.  This year they supported me in France, Portugal and Belgium.  For this event, they had 5 Caterhams in the truck although only 4 were running in the track day event.   I have known them both 15 years or so from their days at Bookatrack.  While Phill is not a fan of Caterhams to drive (he prefers VW Fun Cups but each to their own!), Sarah was a successful Caterham racer some years back and was an instructor for a long time. 

There are a ton of accommodation options around the circuit.  Best option I have found over the years is the town of Spa, about 15 minutes drive from the Circuit.  There are a number of restaurants within walking distance of hotels.  Other options to look at are the towns of Francorchamps, Stavelot, or Malmedy. 

TFL Racing organize a garage for its customers.  This is essential in the Ardennes Mountains as the weather changes quicker than a political opinion.  We were based in the F1 pits for this event. 

I was running my silver Caterham 420R which has served me well over the years.

Richard, a long term TFL customer who I have known since the old Bookatrack days, had his orange Caterham R300 race car in attendance, an ex Bookatrack rental car like mine. 

Then there was the rental 420 race car below with Phill standing behind it.  This year it was rented by Steve, a USA7s member, who was ticking off his driving bucket list.  This is a bit of a step up from his Caterham crossflow and his Mallock!

In the background above, you can see a pearl green Caterham.  This was powered by a Honda engine and was part of a small production run of 4 cars by a well known Caterham mechanic.  Interesting to check out the very neat professional installation.  Its a tall engine (with about 250hp) so was dry sumped for ground clearance.  Sadly it ended its day early with a head gasket failure - bit annoying as it was a newly built engine.  Incredibly quick when it was going!

There were a few other Caterhams present, all from the UK.

In the seven-esque department, there was a KTM X-Bow, although I did not reocgnize it given the new wrap around windscreen which made the thing look awfully gawky.  It was also slow as I always seemed to come across it trundling up Eau Rouge/Radillion at the worst time.

There was a substantial contingent of BMWs.  Sadly these were mostly the experience day types of cars, where you arrive, an instructor takes you around a few laps, then you get in to drive on track for the first time without having a single clue what to do.  So I would pile into a corner only to find Driving Miss Daisy ahead of me going 40mph. 

This example below was an exception - I thought it was well driven and quick. 

This pair of McLarens was located in the garage next to us.  Just a couple of older retired guys having one hell of a fun time on track. 

Then you have the usual hot hatch contingent.  Most of them are very quick.

A unique vehicle found in Europe is the VW Fun Cup car.  Space frame chassis.  2L 4 cylinder VW/Audi in the rear.  Fiberglass body.  Very light and remarkably quick.  Butt ugly to look at though. 

They even had a Holden HSV ute present - this was one of the ones Walkinshaw Performance sold through Vauxhall UK dealers.  It would have been tail happy in the cold wet conditions on day 1.  Actually forget that - its tail happy no matter what. 

Then there was this one.  Manthey modified Porsche.  Owner was using a zimmer walking frame to get around.  Lap speed was predictably slow as a result. 

Goldtrack have track day rules that are strict on paper - keep right, passing with point by on left, no passing in corners, etc.  Usually in the UK they last till about 3pm.  But this is Europe, by 10am those rules have gone out the window and anything is fair game.   So its pass in the corner.  No point by.  I used to hang on the right side at the end of Kemmel Straight to be able to out brake into Les Combes esses and then be in a position to hold all the more powerful cars off until Blanchimont area.  Lots of cars are fast in a straight line but not much could hang onto a Caterham once it turned twisty other than some full on race GT cars with fat grippy grooved intermediate race tires.

But the grip was compromised.  Day 1 was supposed to be dry but it was wet.  Temps were high 40sF.  Literally I could come in after an hour and the tires would be lukewarm.  The Toyo R888s were useless with front end grip.  I slithered about looking for grip. 

The pit exit photo tells the story of the weather.  I had family with me - teaching for his first time on track at Spa.  In predictable form, we are trying to fix the mirror which chose exactly that moment to flop over.  I have always believed mirrors are unnecessary if you are fast enough. 

This is mid way through the Double Gauche (Double Left).  Treat the two left handers as one corner.  Tap brakes on the steep downhill entry.  Trail the brake to initially assist in keeping the tail anchored as you turn in.  Then transition to throttle.  Before the exit of the first corner your throttle should be on the floor.  You then hang on as the steering wheel stays static and the rear end yaws around under full throttle.  One of the most immensely satisfying corners of any track anywhere.  On exit of the corner I am at 7200rpm in 4th gear - incredibly quick. 

Then the signature corner at Spa-Francochamps - the renowned Eau Rouge/Raidillon sequence.  Where else do you get intense positive Gs and then negative Gs on track in the space of 100 feet? 

You exit Las Source (turn 1) up near the F1 Pits.  You then run up to 4th gear 7300rpm and accelerator pedal is on the floor as you flick left over the Eau Rouge rumble strips then flick right to head up the hill before edging left again to clip the apex for Raidillon at the top of the hill.  As you go through Eau Rouge you cannot see Raidillon - its totally blind.  I line up on a particular tree top I know.  There is no lifting of throttle.  There is no braking.  If I do it right then my 7300rpm at Eau Rouge has scrubbed off a bit to 6900-7000rpm at Raidillon despite having buried the right foot accelerator to the firewall.  I then build back up to 7300rpm along the uphill Kemmel straight and hold it there on the throttle.  Thats my redline.  Changing to 5th is useless.  Because it is so uphill you actually lose speed going to 5th - you can see the revs drop slowly off. 

Here I have Steve @bball7754 with me so I know it was early Day 1 when he came out to get a sense of the track before he drove the rental Caterham.  Unfortunately, I made a hash of it on the out lap.  At Rivage in the downhill braking section I just could not stop the car so sailed off to the outside and had to wait for the traffic to go past to re-enter safely.  The Rivage /Bruxelles corner was the absolute worst on day 1 - zero grip and you spent your time bringing in opposite lock.  The corner following was a close second worst as I spent a fair amount of time drifting the rear end through it.

Steve managed a spin in the middle of Eau Rouge/Raidillon - somewhere half way up the hill.  That would have been terrifying.

This is later in the day on Day 1 when it dried out a bit and I could start to push.  Here I have avoided one of the mobile chicane BMWs. 

Day 2 was a far better proposition.  Track was dry.  Temperature was still cold.  But you could at least start to push hard on track.  It was never going to be a quick lap day.  My best GPS lap time was 2m53 and that was with the car sliding everywhere.  On a warm sunny summer day, on Avon ZZR Xtreme compound tires with a passenger on board, I have done a 2min47.  Still I was having a blast and not caring about the lap times.  

This is exiting the Bus Stop corner on the pit straight.

Leaving Eau Rouge and heading up the hill to Raidillon. 

Looks to be apexing the third last corner in the Les Combes sequence at the very top of the circuit.  I can tell it was my last session of Day 2.

And then it all went pear shaped.  Around 3.30pm, I felt a clunk as I came around La Source.  Could not see anything wrong and all felt ok so I pushed on through Eau Rouge/Raidillon, along Kemmel Straight, on the brakes for Les Combes at the marker, then just before the right turn in at Les Combes, I was engulfed in white smoke through the bonnet louvres.  I bailed straight ahead into the run off realizing I may be losing coolant (as it was white smoke) and stopped.

Oops!

The end of the Kemmel Straight can be seen in the background with Les Combes running off the left.  I am actually stopped on the original circuit that led to Bourneville but is no longer used today. 

Took a long time to be recovered as someone hit the wall in the Bus Stop at the same time I was stopping at Les Combes.  

So what happened?   Well, the alternator bracket failed.  The photo below shows it wedged into the chassis tube.  Luckily I did not lose it on track as they are expensive.

This then threw off the serpentine belt that powers the ancilliaries, including the water pump. 

In the space of a mile this over-pressurized the cooling system so it blew the cap on the expansion tank.  It was so quick, I never saw the temp gauge move.  It was in the normal range as I was stopping at Les Combes.  Given the amount of cold air flowing around the engine, I imagine that helped keep the engine cool. 

Overall it is a resonably easy fix.  New alternator bracket.  New serpentine belt.  Flush the cooling system and replace coolant.  New expansion bottle cap.  A good reason to go with an outfit like TFL Racing is that it has the spares in the back of the truck to fix something the usual types of problems - this is common as the alternator bracket is a known failure point.  So I could have gone back out.  However, given it was 4.30pm in the pits I elected to call it a day and be happy as it had been three hours on track that day. 

Thats the end of my UK/Europe track days planned for this year.  Dates are starting to be scheduled for 2025.  April looks to be Portugal with two days on track at Portimao and one day at Estoril.  Then I have two days at Zandvoort planned for September.  More track day operators will be releasing their calendars in the coming month and I will be filling in boxes on my calendar. 

If you want to scratch your bucket list track in Europe or the UK get in touch with me.  Its not cheap but then bucket list items rarely are. 

References

TFL Racing - Caterham rental for track days at Spa-Francorchamps and elsewhere in the UK and Europe.  Contact Phill and Sarah at:

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

RSR Spa - Non-Caterham rentals for track day at Spa

https://rsrspa.com/

I fronted up to Zandvoort in The Netherlands to do a track day with RMA, a UK outfit with a good reputation.  For some reason I ended up being the only TFL Racing supported car at this event.  My car arrived in a small trailer towed by a trusty pick up driven by Dickon who was my support crew for the two days.  Given what later emerged with the weather I think the others were more sensible in staying away.  I was also joined by a family member.  

The Zandvoort Circuit has a long history back to the 1930s, carved into the dunes behind the beaches facing the North Sea.  Its not Florida but to Europeans, it is an exclusive seaside resort.  It is the home of the Dutch Formula 1 Grand Prix although for how long is a major question.  

The track of today was heavily modified 5 years ago to make it more suitable for Formula 1 safety needs.  Despite this, the old character still shines through.  This section below is still readily familiar when you drive it today.

The track is well suited for spectators with lots of dunes and mounds of sand to get great views of the cars on track as they weave and undulate through the sand dunes.  

The week before I turned up I had to scramble for a garage as it had been forgotten originally booked plus the weather forecast was not looking great.  Fortunately I secured one, right next to Mickey's Bar at the end of the pit complex.  

Keen eyed observers will notice the yellow vinyl sticker with a black cross through it on the back of the car.  This was the rookie sticker to alert cars coming up from behind that a newbie to the circuit was ahead.  While I had been to Zandvoort before, I also had a family member with me driving  my car who had not.  

I stayed in central Amsterdam as the accommodation options were more plentiful plus many dining options for the evening - its only a 40 min car ride to the circuit.  Zandvoort at this time of year is a ghost town and not a fun place to stay in off season.

The weather forecast was grim.  Day 1 - intermittent showers with strong winds.  Strong winds ended up being 45mph with with gusts up to 65mph - those gusts are technically hurricane strength.  I was hoping that the dunes around the circuit would protect me.  

A fair amount of standing water around the track was going to require some delicate driving given the conditions were marginal for the Toyo R888R tires - my wet intermediate choice.  I do not have full race wets.  The dry slick tires stayed in the trailer.  

The cars at an RMA event are high end.  A lot of Porsches.  A good scattering of BMW M cars.  There were a few of those space frame Beetle looking Fun Cup things.  There were two other Caterhams - a 620R and a 420 race car.  The 620R was only out there on day 1 as he only had Avon ZZR tires and given the condition sensibly stayed under cover on day 2.  The 420 race car was running full race wets and so was making me insanely jealous by showing off how much grip he had all over the circuit.  

On day 1 the track did dry out mostly.  Turn 1 was marginal all day - I could not get the car to stop and used the run off at the end of the straight quite a few times to save myself.  A combination of damp/wet track, cold temps, the light weight of a Caterham, just could not get the tread on a R888 to grip.  

You can really see the sand dunes in the background looking towards the North Sea.  

Turn 3 is a fascinating corner.  A deep bowl, it has lots of G forces as you hammer through.  You could dive deep down to the inner kerb but the faster line was to stay high and hold more momentum through the corner.  

The old character still shines through.  Look at the sequence of the next two photos - first from the 1950s and the next from this year.  This was my favorite part of the circuit as you swoop through the undulations at high speed.  However, it was a bit tricky for me.  One time I was caught by a wind gust and found myself with opposite lock to stay on track.  

Apologies for the sound but this short video below shows the sequence through turns 2 and 3 with turn 3 being the dished banked corner.  

Naturally the way to recover after a track day is with some hydration to warm back up.

Day 2 was not good.  Lots of rain - mostly torrential.  

My approach was to use the dry window at the bbeginning of the day to get as much time in as I could.  So I went out for an endurance stint as soon as the lights went green.  Two hours later I came back in with the fuel tank on red.  I always liked endurance racing when you just get into a mental zone of being super consistent and smooth on the car.

Below shows the car coming through the final banked corner onto main/pit straight.

The rooster tails of water show the level of standing water on track.  It was a struggle to get the car to stop let alone grip in a corner or apply power without getting snap oversteer.  

Headlights needed to be on.  You really could not see cars coming up behind you in the spray unless their headlights were on. 

This section of track saw me managed to do a 360 degree loop when I messed up a heel and toe  downshift, but I still managed to keep momentum and drive off in second gear.  The track photographer was right there but he said to me later he was so surprised he forgot to take any photos of my looping.  

Lots of race cars were present using the days as testing for future race events.  Being race cars they had full wets so were far more capable in the conditions than what I was able to achieve.  Its still fine to drive but you have to adjust for the conditions.  So I was a lot slower.  My accompanying family member only went out once on day 2.  He said he preferred his track days like his martinis - dry.  He was mostly found keeping warm in Mickey's Bar!

Despite the weather, I have booked again for September 2026.  This time I have booked a garage and will seriously consider better wet tires - likely a full race wets although maybe the neww Nova ZZS will be available by then.  

Links

Zandvoort Circuit

https://www.circuitzandvoort.nl/en/

History of Zandvoort

https://www.circuitzandvoort.nl/en/history/

Zandvoort Track Narrative

https://www.circuitzandvoort.nl/en/corners/

TFL Racing

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