Hi Gents,

Thought i'd share a little write up on the open pit lane track day @ Bedford Autodrome on Monday...

So with 2 little ones and a hectic life/job etc it came to Sunday night and 12 hours before we are due to convoy down to what was forecasted to be a sunny (or what actually transpired to be rainy) Bedfordshire I started 'preparing' the car...

Tyre pressures, coolant, oil, brakes, - all present & topped up, a good wash & polish and we are ready for the off!

04:30am - Alarm goes off...***** that is early (and I normally get up at 5:30am) but christ that was early

05:10am - Convoy assembled (Stage 3 Focus ST, A very tasty stripped out Leon Cupra with the biggest brakes you have ever seen, and a Cosworth honed, stupidly fast and setup Astra Coupe Turbo) - so yes I was at least 130bhp short...



Remarkably we arrived at Bedford at 07:45am with time to drool over a carpark full of M3's, 400bhp Mk3 Fiesta's, and an Octave VRS with a cone filter poking through the bonnet ?! Sadly its really wet, NOT what the bloody BBC reliably told us but it would certainly add to the entertainment value for spectators

09:00am - Briefing done, 89db at 4500 rpm with Cat was a surprisingly high readout (more than any of the cars in convoy...)

09:30am - On track for siting lap, now i've done Bedford before, it was always reassuringly open and 'safe' but the new additions have added a new and much needed element of complexity and it is a great circuit. It is still REALLY wet and the back of the 306 has already informed me it would like to overtake the front if at all possible!

10:00am - Track open, sit back, watch the nutters get their steam blown off, M4 comes spinning past the pits, and I boldly state "i've never spun here and don't plan to today...."

10:30am - We're off, car feels fantastic, the Satchshift has transformed how the car performs, you really feel the gears through the gearstick, tarmac through the wheel and the chassis through the buckets, its massively engaging and tactile - if bloody loud without any sound deadening.

Anyway, 1st lap out, its wet still, feels good but tyres not warming up that quickly, over confidence, caffeine, and early start all together result in the inevitable, right in front of the bloody pits!!!

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vnBrylw5N8E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It felt like I'd smashed something, temporarily it wouldnt move (or at least it felt like it...) In hindsight i'm annoyed with myself, just crap driving, cold tyres, wet, turned in off throttle but that is why i love Bedford, brushed off, cleaned up and out we went to continue the day

https://youtu.be/vnBrylw5N8E

So the rest of the day went without a hitch, the car, firstly it dried up (hallelujah!) i mean what a car, for a cheap and cheerful track car it was exceptional, with a real minority of cars lapping faster (with the exception of a tuned Megane 260 (thoroughly nice bloke), a handful of bonkers Caterhams, the M4 and a Supercharged Monaro)

Despite a 130bhp short fall, on a fast open track, my little 162k mile, 18 year old 306 gallantly marched around and around the track, using 2 tanks of fuel, and overtaking all of the cars that we came down with, along with loads of Evo's, Impreza's, 911's, C63's and one extremely well driven and v fast Scirocco...

Here are a few clips with the other cars metioned, some of which I am well and truly in overdrive mode but hell that is part of the fun!

https://youtu.be/p7S5TMZi9Ks

https://youtu.be/hPkTiVnUZ9Y

https://youtu.be/ncROLN2VkYI

2 tanks of Super Unleaded later and she was a tad dirty (those wheels were white....)



For anyone considering a 306 as a track day car, getting on track, or heading to Bedford, I cannot recommend all 3 opportunities, an utterly brilliant, exhausting, and exhilarating day in equal measure, bring on the next!

Brilliant Read ....glad you got to use it & learn about its character

Brands next year, yea? Come drive on a real track

That being said Bedford is great to learn on. I've never done it in the race car, only on Palmersport days but it's good fun.

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Rallye Race Car

I didn't enjoy silverstone when I went there, donington is good. Cadwell is my favourite but not much in terms of run off

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Goldie the track car.

Brands you'll be fine with. It's such a short lap it's very easy to build confidence in the car.

Donington is good fun, Craner Curves are awesome. Here's out race video from there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3beV4VI1F5U

Cadwell is awesome, serious balls to the wall circuit and very narrow. If you get it wrong, you're in the barriers though. Unless you do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzWjH5x6IFQ

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Rallye Race Car

Well none of them all put together come as close to Accidents & hitting Barriers like Castle Combe .....mental dangerous place & no room for errors ....

Balls out track ....

I love it
And best of all 3miles away ..

Nordschleife is much more difficult than a traditional track like Combe. For a start you can see the whole corner at Coombe rather than loads of blind exits and varied surface conditions on the ring.

To drive the ring at a really good pace you need to know the circuit pretty well. If you don't, you really need to take it easy otherwise you'll be coming out of a blind exit and be on the inside of a tight bend you didn't know was there going way too fast on a poor braking surface.

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61k miles Ph.1 Diablo '6 Project Thread

Ooh sorry I thought you were talking UK

Chris ...It may be your superior driving Skills m8 ...

I find I can use all my power to great effect & others with 100+ more just can't get it down smoothly enough & appear scared to use it & when they do they brake far to early & get out braked ...

... think I've got crazy Quarry at Combe kind of sorted by going in crazy fast / brake late & power full on using the diff ....

Just want to do most of the great tracks in the UK ...got no plans or no interest in traveling to the ring

I want to go to a great track next year ...what's a great track not to many long Straights ....any suggestions?

Sadly Phillip 3hrs away ....

Only an hour away once your cage is in

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- Bespoke rollcages/additions/adjustments. Half cages right up to complete custom spaceframes - MSA/FIA spec, CDS, ROPT, T45, etc - PM me
Email me!
Custom-made polybushes available - need an odd size or fitment? - anything from batch work to one-off pieces.

True but it's then got to be put back together

Combe is twistier than you might think, although is fairly fast in places you still need to get some corners properly nailed to be quick. Avon rise into Quarry is only really scary in the wet if you lock up a tad

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