23/05/2006 20:55:02 David A Well that's my first track day under my belt, and a personal ambition, to drive round Brands, to boot. And what fun it was! The weather made things even more 'interesting' and the one-to-one time with the instructor was worth every penny! It's just a pity KKE disgraced itself by throwing a sulk at the end - I drove off in such a flap I forgot to thank everyone who helped push it back into life. So cheers guys, especially Dave for sorting the day out. I'll be seeing you all again soon I hope!;)

23/05/2006 21:44:11 Mattbellamy123 Superb trackday, enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks to everyone. The weather was interesting, not too bad in a FWD car just loads and loads of understeer as you see yourself sailing towards the cone and the grass!! Looking forward to my second trackday now! Thanks again, steve What were you driving david a??

23/05/2006 21:52:16 ianpg Yep thanks for having a few of us Mx5oc members:D it was great fun! Driving fast in the rain gave me more confidence with my car in the wet.:) :eek:

23/05/2006 22:13:28 IanL A big thanks to Dave and all that organised this event, I had a great time and am now keen to do more. Shame about the weather but agree with ianpg, driving in the wet has given me more confidence also. The only thing that spoiled my enjoyment slightly was the guy in the Exige who must have been to a totally different briefing to the rest of us, I seem to remember no overtaking on bends and overtaking by invitation only having been mentioned........[IMG]http://pitlane.mgs-on-track.com/images/icons/icon8.gif[/IMG]

23/05/2006 22:20:00 emmajackman You certainly looked like you all had fun :) Dave I hope you get KKE sorted without to much trouble. Even if there were 4 of us pushing KKE through the pits, we all nearly keeled over afterwards. (Well I'm seriously unfit! ;) *ahem* lazy) Got a few photos online now, usual place: [URL="http://www.emgeeeff.com/gallerymain.html"]http://www.emgeeeff.com/gallerymain.html[/URL]

23/05/2006 22:23:14 jonboy Thanks to the organisers for the invite, and for a great afternoon - had a real ball :) Bit of a shame about the weather, but the rain made it 'interesting', honest ;) Somewhat agree with the comments about the guy in the exige - he was kinda 'pushy', but it didn't detract from the day :) I'm looking forward to the next one now :) Jon (Green LHD MX-5)

23/05/2006 23:00:02 MalcV8 My first track day and it was a blast... BIG GRINS all the time, and I didn't mind the rain, it just made things interesting :D:D:D:D Thanks to all at MGoT for a great day. Malcolm

24/05/2006 06:33:54 JuZ I had a huge grin on my face the whole time :D Brands is a brilliant circuit and I was supprised how much grip there was in the wet, I had a brilliant time and the car behaved perfectly, not bad for a 23 year old hatchback :cool:. Thank you for letting me join in :) Juz - Silver MK1 Golf

24/05/2006 07:09:09 norman [quote=emmajackman]Even if there were 4 of us pushing KKE through the pits, we all nearly keeled over afterwards. (Well I'm seriously unfit! ;) *ahem* lazy)[/quote] Emma, didn't realise that was you pushing, I would have said hello. David, did you get a chance to look at why the starter failed? Hope all is well with KKE soon. By the way, as you drove off I wasn't waiving goodbye, I was signalling for help.:eek: It seems like a good time was had by all ... well most anyway. That's what its all about, lets hope that it has given you all the bug to try it again. I'll get the pics online in the gallery this evening and post my email address if anyone wants a copy.

24/05/2006 08:28:05 tom wenham Thanks Dave for letting me and my Morgan join you for a marvellous evening. I thought he whole set up at Brands very professional yet remaining friendly. The bus trip, sighting laps, braking boards and marker cones helped very much to bed us in. I was treated to a ride with my instructor in the Megane and he managed to get black flagged for overtaking on bends and on the right - was then summoned to the control room for a talking-to! I agree that the weather, though unfortunate, meant that us novices had a testing baptism and will mean that we will find it a lot easier in the dry. Thanks again - hope to see you all again when an opportunity arises.:) :)

24/05/2006 08:31:36 Martin C [b]Many thanks[/b] Dave a big thank you for organising this, my first session back on track for six years, I'm a little older and slower but the fun factor is still 100% :D The guy in the Exiege (or how ever you spell it, MG's are so much easier) was no novice either but fair I felt. I thought my day was going to end very early when the Midget spun right in front of me :o Still no tears at bedtime and I discovered adrenalin is brown ! ! ! Hope we didn't hold any body up too much, standard rubber bumper BGT's are bloody slow, especially in a straight line, but huge fun round the bends :eek: See you all at Castle Coombe? Martin.

24/05/2006 14:23:14 Michelle Pardington [b]Brands Novices evening[/b] Eventually had fun but there were a few problems. [LIST=1] [*]Missed the sighting laps due to being in the last mini-bus tour. The last call for sighting laps was made while my husband & I were still waiting to collect our helmets! [*]Nutter in the Lotus Exige was very intimidating, overtaking on bends & in braking zones, driving very close to other vehicles, & he wasn't the only one. Quite scary. Some drivers obviously hadn't attended the same briefing!!![/LIST]I had instruction from one of the racing school guys, & this really improved my confidence & this made my evening. It's definately worth spending the extra cash. At the end the adrenalin was flowing, & I'm sure I will be back, although would not feel happy on a circuit with experienced drivers. My ZR 105 didn't have the power of almost all of the others, but the handling on this twisty track was great. Will keep a look out for the next novice event. Hopefully with no Exiges next time. Thanks very much to Dave & MGs-on-Track for organising it all, & the opportunity to drive the Brands circuit.

24/05/2006 18:26:37 Mattbellamy123 i spoke to the guy in the exige before we started, he reckoned he had been to one track day before, i dont think he had the experience just loads of power and grip! he overtook me in my smokey diesel rover 200 a few times as well, i nearly considered ramming him off the track in his plastic go kart! hehe, oh well! hope i didnt upset anyone

24/05/2006 19:53:15 TimJ [b]Wicked fun![/b] Thanks Dave and your team - an excellent evening with a very friendly bunch of people!:D :D I thought skinny tyres, low power plus wet would favour the Midget but There were times when I wish I had one of those amphicars from TopGear... There were times when I wished I'd had time to sort out the current status of slightly unpredictable fishtail handling of my car :o (such as reaching the apex of Paddock)...... There were times when I wish I had my 1380 engine installed instead of my tired standard lump (such as on the straights:( )..... There were times when I just felt barking mad.......... Having said all that - it was excellent fun and I learnt a lot without spinning or collecting anyone. Hope my red slowboat didn't hold anyone up too much - Exige wasn't too much of a problem for me as I was used to ducking out of the way of you faster people [Was interesting reading Juz writing about his 23 year old Golf (an excellent track car and neatly driven) as I was just completing the purchase of my wreck at that time!] Currently seeking planning permission for Castle Coombe - so may see you peeps there if I'm not too late. Tim

24/05/2006 20:28:47 MalcV8 [quote=TimJ]There were times when I wished I'd had time to sort out the current status of slightly unpredictable fishtail handling of my car :o (such as reaching the apex of Paddock)......[/quote] That bend certainly requires a *lot* of respect, there were a couple of times when the gravel was leering and beckoning me to come in, and I was thinking "Noooooooooo!!!". Great fun for a first timer, and no real brown trouser moments, so maybe I wasn't going fast enough? :)

24/05/2006 20:57:00 norman [b]Photos available in the gallery[/b] I've started a new thread [URL="http://pitlane.mgs-on-track.com/showthread.php?p=4878#post4878"]here[/URL] .

25/05/2006 08:24:58 David A [b]Off-topic update[/b] [quote=norman]David, did you get a chance to look at why the starter failed? Hope all is well with KKE soon.[/quote] Since several folk have kindly asked how the car is, I'll risk going OT briefly... KKE's refusal to start had 'cleared itself' by the time I got home, and the starter now turns without hesitation. I had the ignition leads etc visually inspected, with no problem apparent. So I will get the battery tested - It may be that high-speed running plus frequent short stops left it gasping, it's getting old after all...

25/05/2006 14:38:01 grabul [b]Well Done All[/b] Hi all, I was totally taken with the track day at brands, and it was my 45th birthday to boot. I may have got a bit carried away but then I did used to race motorbikes in the eighties so maybe I have a slight competitive streak still in me:o . The Exige did not pester me to much we only met a couple of times and he overtook me once. I was a bit worried that my ZT would be a bit big for the circuit, but it would seem that the modifications I have done worked very well :D. A big congrats to all who organised the day it was a real blast. Now to get my car back in the garage and tighten everything back up. PS sorry if I upset anyone by driving a bit close etc, not intentional:eek: :(

25/05/2006 18:43:11 Steve Hill PLeased to hear that you enjoyed it so much. Perhaps we'll see you at Croft or Castle Combe.

25/05/2006 19:13:42 grabul [b]Thanks[/b] Thanks Steve, it suppassed my expectations. Work schedule permitting (I work on ships all over the world) I will be at castle combe without a doubt. After putting in a new clutch though:confused: :confused:

25/05/2006 20:17:51 Stu [quote=Michelle Pardington] "[I]At the end the adrenalin was flowing, & I'm sure I will be back, although would not feel happy on a circuit with experienced drivers. [/I]" Generally all sessions on each track day are split according to experience Michelle so don't let that put you off too much ! There is normally a novice session where everyone's getting to know how their car handles at speed.. The weather didn't do you any favours at Brands either !! I was there watching as my experience didn't allow me to participate. I hope we'll see you on another fun day soon:D Stu

25/05/2006 22:14:24 emmajackman Norman I've just worked out who you are. You're a regular on the MG BBS right?

26/05/2006 06:38:43 norman Yes, thats me too. Don't post much there anymore as it's getting a bit 'juvenile' :rolleyes: but do keep an eye on it.

30/05/2006 09:52:03 browner9999 Great day and Great Pics Norman. I was driving the Blue ZS and could not have had a better day. The car ran like a dream and far better than I thought it would. Thanks again and I WILL be doing more track days in the future.:D

30/05/2006 10:19:15 norman Glad you enjoyed it. The pics could have been better - struggling with downpours and failing light. If that was your 1st track day there's another beginners evening one at Bedford Autodrome on 20th July. Its for people who have done no more than 2 previous trackdays. See here: [URL="http://www.mgs-on-track.com/events/14/bedford_2006-07-20.htm"]http://www.mgs-on-track.com/events/14/bedford_2006-07-20.htm[/URL] Bedford is probably the safest track in the country for beginners. Wide open spaces, plenty of 'run-off' and no barriers. Go on, you know you want to ....:)

30/05/2006 16:00:14 Mattbellamy123 thanks for letting me know it is a novice evening, i hadnt realised, will definitely be getting my name down for that one!