rooflessdriver Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Well I have finally got to do a track day at Brands Hatch, and what a day! We had glorious weather all day for a start, the track started off dampish in a few places but soon dried out enough to see a racing line. The Hornet was on good form, although I think the exhaust might be blowing a little, and the 888's were confidence inspiring. My first proper open session out was amazing. Finn passengered with me, and having done a few track days & tution sessions, she gave some really good advice. The first useful tip was to hook my thumbs around the steering wheel at quarter to three position, so you could feed the steering in and out back to dead ahead. Once I got into a rhythm the setup of the car just came into its own. Tony's fast road settings combined with the Gaz shocks kept the car planted, and was so good I could just concentrate on the driving & keeping a watchful eye in the mirrors for other cars. I initially found I was stuck behind cars in the corners, and then on the straights didn't have the power to keep up with them as they pulled away and felt the Hornet was underpowered. (Bear in mind my daily drive is a supercharged Mk2.5!) However, that was to change! As usual Mazda On Track had laid on a good day, and there were a number of tutors available for 20min sessions. After lunch I went out again but with Steve 'El Stig'. The first couple of laps were for Steve to get an idea of my driving ability then he started giving advice. The first thing he commented on was that I wasn't looking far enough ahead in corners. Once I started to look to & beyond the clipping point, I could get the power in sooner, let the car naturally move out to the exit, whilst feeding out the steering. I soon found I was carrying more speed, and started to pass cars! My next problem was I wasn't forceful enough on the brakes. Steve said I was very smooth on braking, but not using enough force. This became more apparent as I got faster, and the braking & gear change points came up quicker! Brands Hatch is an amazing circuit for a first proper track day. (The only other one I have done was at Colerne, again with Mazda on Track, but that's a coned airfield). Turning into to Paddock Hill bend with its blind apex is initally quite scary, and then getting to the bottom of the hill and feeling the compression before heading up for Druids, is quite an experience. Druids seems really strange as the turning in point is so deep, and the clipping point is almost on the far side, but when I started looking further, it came naturally and was carrying speed down towards Graham Hill Bend. Unfortunately, that's one corner I just couldn't get comfortable with. As there was no brake board, just a turn in cone, I was always nervous but gradually got quicker. Cooper Straight was very frustrating for me. It seemed to be the point where I was urging the Hornet on, but didn't have the power and watched cars pulling away. Steve gave me a really good tip for Surtees, and this is where I started to catch those pesky slower cornering cars again. On the right, there is a little bump/dip in the surface & he said that was the point to start turning in. He was then shouting at me to keep the power down through Mclaren, then brake hard and turn in for the double cones on Clearways. Again, let the car naturally drift out before clipping Clark Curve just past the Marshal Tower & changing up. My next problem was climbing up on Brabham Straight to soon. Staying close to the Pitlane wall kept the momentum up, rising to the outside edge by the white panel, just before the brake board, changing down gear at the white line & then turning in again. Each time I went through Paddock Hill Bend after that I got quicker and quicker, putting in up change and then braking much harder under the bridge for the Kodak Gallery. I had another session a bit later with Finn as passenger, and I really felt much more confident the whole time I was out. I must say I can't remember the last time I enjoyed driving so much, and a big thankyou to all our sponsors in getting the Hornet to its current state. I took a few photos whilst Finn was out, so will post them up later. We stopped off at the Texaco garage for petrol and got chatting to a really nice guy who lived locally who was very enthusiastic about Brands Hatch. He had just picked up his 20yr old BMW M3 E30 from an engine rebuild, and was planning to get it on a rolling road, get the Geo done and then take it out on track. I had a spare WIM window sticker in the car, so recommended he took a drive up to Tony and get the car set up properly. Told him to mention the Hornet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Oh wow what a fantastic write up..... Reads like the entire day was a growing learning curve with each step adding to the fun. Bang for your buck you cannot beat a 5, add some decent suspension and calibrate it you have one hell of a fun driving experience...... I'm really pleased for you all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted December 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Spot on Tony. Really good experience, and the work you guys have done with the car is brilliant. One quick pic of Finn coming through cooper straight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hms Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Nice write up Sean. Have to agree it was a great day. Took Lexie for her first proper track day since the 'charger was fitted. (Went to Ecuyers but had coolant loss and heating problems so didn't give it the beans!) It's great fun now reeling people in and getting them on the straight! I'm still not fast on the corners, I need to tweak the suspension a little more. Derek (Gaz) was jokingly annoyed with my driving, holding him up in corners and then speeding off in the straights! This must be the first ever time I've properly overtaken on the track, Brilliant. The two Cooper tyres that were put on the back seemed to be OK, not showing any signs of being used on a track day, (hard or what) only had one issue coming out of the hairpin where I could feel the backend going it's own way, but quickly caught without problem. All in all a great day, nice and relaxed. I'll post some video in due course. h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 5, 2009 Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 hs that reads like progressive oversteer giving warning she was going to brake away....... I'm well happy with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hms Posted December 5, 2009 Report Share Posted December 5, 2009 hs that reads like progressive oversteer giving warning she was going to brake away....... I'm well happy with that. yes it was not a surprise, I could feel it happening. I'm happy with that. Having used the 888's on the Hornet, I'm seriously considering a set for track days. Means buying a new set of wheels tho' h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 6, 2009 Report Share Posted December 6, 2009 hs that reads like progressive oversteer giving warning she was going to brake away....... I'm well happy with that. yes it was not a surprise, I could feel it happening. I'm happy with that. Having used the 888's on the Hornet, I'm seriously considering a set for track days. Means buying a new set of wheels tho' h Be quick all road/ track tyres are to be banned soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hms Posted December 6, 2009 Report Share Posted December 6, 2009 I had read somewhere that 888's would be OK. Of course my search skills do not allow me to find that on the interwebthingy! h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 6, 2009 Report Share Posted December 6, 2009 I had read somewhere that 888's would be OK.Of course my search skills do not allow me to find that on the interwebthingy! h Nope the 888 will be a victim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hms Posted December 6, 2009 Report Share Posted December 6, 2009 Damnation! h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 7, 2009 Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 We are applying for motorsport status with the supplier's so we should have other options Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CIH Posted December 7, 2009 Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 o'rly ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted December 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 Slightly back on thread My photos from Brands Hatch are here : Brands Hatch Dec 09 Bit biased towards the Hornet, Finn & I were sharing, but some good pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hms Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 [reminder to self] Must remember to wash Lexie is she's going to be in the opening photos of one of Sean's slideshows. [/reminder to self] h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 8, 2009 Report Share Posted December 8, 2009 [reminder to self] Must remember to wash Lexie is she's going to be in the opening photos of one of Sean's slideshows. [/reminder to self] h Nice pics :cool03: hs....... tut, tut, tut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgh Posted December 9, 2009 Report Share Posted December 9, 2009 I, too, enjoyed this day in the December sunshine. That's an interesting comment about Surtees and McLaren from Sean. One of the joys of the MX-5 on track is the corner you can take without braking or lifting. Surtees and McLaren are like this but it leaves you very little time to do anything about the turn in for Clearways and if you're not sure exactly how you intend to do it you have a bit of a problem. :cool03: My bit of a problem ended in an unintentional drift round most of Clearways. The back end stepped out and opposite lock stopped it but didn't bring it back into line until the drift bled off enough speed whereupon it snapped back quite quickly leaving me heading in the right direction. A few more laps and I figured the best approach was to ignore McLaren, the exit from Surtees takes you to its apex anyway, get the car straight at or just after this apex and use the width of the track to bake hard and change down for the entry to Clearways. This seemed to wotk. This was the third outing for my Toyo R888s and the first fully dry day. They certainly give a lot of grip so all I have to do now is work out how to use it. The R888s showed the same sort of wear I had with the Yokohama Paradas but I think I can shed some light on the problem. I will post more in the Tyre section. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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