Back from Colerne

Well, that was...... exciting.

Arrived at Colerne in plenty of time before the briefing, had a cuppa
and a wander around the paddock.

Worryingly, there were loads of Caterhams, some Elises, a couple of
VX220s and a handful of TVRs along with a few 911s, a couple of Caymans
and a 4x4 Sapphire Cossie.

I felt a bit more comfortable when a Clio Williams appeared, followed by
a MkIII Golf VR6 and a ratty MkI Golf - badged as a CL, but obviously
wasn't, 'cos he came prepared with race tyres and tyre warmers.

Anyway, got things underway at 10am-ish with an instructor for the first
session. He spent most of the time telling me to brake later and harder
than I've ever done before. Until we cooked my brakes and had to come in
to let them cool.

The rest of the morning was spent hammering the brakes until they died
before coming in for them to cool.....

After lunch, I did another 3 sessions, this time taking a bit more care
of my brakes. Unfortunately, this meant that my tyres took a bit more of
a hammering, as I spent a lot of time on opposite lock with smoke
pouring from the rears. Lovely.

Things I discovered.

A 75 TSpark is a much better track car than a Golf VR6. The owner of
which came to look at what was under the bonnet as he couldn't catch me
on the track.

Caterhams and Elises / VX220s carry an immense amount of corner speed,
but the 75 was able to pull away through fast sweepers.

Most people in Porkers spent all afternoon holding me up 'cos I didn't
have the power to get them on the straights and overtaking is banned in
the braking zones and corners.

My video footage is mostly shite, 'cos I didn't get the angle right on
the camera.

I'm awaiting the pro. shots of the day, 'cos a couple of people
commented on the graceful 4-wheel drift the 75 demonstrated through the
last bend.

Can't wait 'till the next one - but I need to sort the brakes first.

--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

SteveH <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Well, that was...... exciting.

Bad form and all that, but the pro shots are in:

http://www.photodirectuk.com/MSE07/1...20Alfa%20Romeo
/index.htm

Quite disappointed that he failed to get any footage of anyone sideways
with plumes of smoke.
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

"SteveH" <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote

Well, that was...... exciting.

Arrived at Colerne in plenty of time before the briefing, had a cuppa
and a wander around the paddock.

Worryingly, there were loads of Caterhams, some Elises, a couple of
VX220s and a handful of TVRs along with a few 911s, a couple of Caymans
and a 4x4 Sapphire Cossie.

I felt a bit more comfortable when a Clio Williams appeared, followed by
a MkIII Golf VR6 and a ratty MkI Golf - badged as a CL, but obviously
wasn't, 'cos he came prepared with race tyres and tyre warmers.

Anyway, got things underway at 10am-ish with an instructor for the first
session. He spent most of the time telling me to brake later and harder
than I've ever done before. Until we cooked my brakes and had to come in
to let them cool.

The rest of the morning was spent hammering the brakes until they died
before coming in for them to cool.....

After lunch, I did another 3 sessions, this time taking a bit more care
of my brakes. Unfortunately, this meant that my tyres took a bit more of
a hammering, as I spent a lot of time on opposite lock with smoke
pouring from the rears. Lovely.

Things I discovered.

A 75 TSpark is a much better track car than a Golf VR6. The owner of
which came to look at what was under the bonnet as he couldn't catch me
on the track.

Caterhams and Elises / VX220s carry an immense amount of corner speed,
but the 75 was able to pull away through fast sweepers.

Most people in Porkers spent all afternoon holding me up 'cos I didn't
have the power to get them on the straights and overtaking is banned in
the braking zones and corners.

My video footage is mostly shite, 'cos I didn't get the angle right on
the camera.

I'm awaiting the pro. shots of the day, 'cos a couple of people
commented on the graceful 4-wheel drift the 75 demonstrated through the
last bend.

Can't wait 'till the next one - but I need to sort the brakes first.

Awww I wanna go :-p Did you find yourself straying over 5krpm then heh?

--
Dan

Iridium <iridiumdan (AT) googlemail (DOT) com> wrote:

Can't wait 'till the next one - but I need to sort the brakes first.


Awww I wanna go :-p Did you find yourself straying over 5krpm then heh?

*cough*7000rpm*cough*
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

"SteveH" <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote

SteveH <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Well, that was...... exciting.

Bad form and all that, but the pro shots are in:

http://www.photodirectuk.com/MSE07/1...20Alfa%20Romeo
/index.htm

Quite disappointed that he failed to get any footage of anyone sideways
with plumes of smoke.

when sorting the brakes sort the suspension like how much body roll!
looks a giggle mind

In news:G-udnT-ulKAGaMzbnZ2dnUVZ8vudnZ2d (AT) pipex (DOT) net,
Vamp <None (AT) none (DOT) com> wittered on forthwith;

"SteveH" <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote in message
news:1hyhbo4.bmt7kshms5ksN%steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk...
SteveH <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Well, that was...... exciting.

Bad form and all that, but the pro shots are in:

http://www.photodirectuk.com/MSE07/1...20Alfa%20Romeo
/index.htm

Quite disappointed that he failed to get any footage of anyone
sideways with plumes of smoke.


when sorting the brakes sort the suspension like how much body roll!
looks a giggle mind

Body roll doesn't mean bad handling or grip, if anything a bit of body roll
is much better than none (unless it's a Xantia Activa).


--
Pete M - Using the Scouse Side of the Force -
Golf GTi Mk2 2.0 8v
Wood and Pickett Range Rover V8 Turbo
Golf GTi Mk1 (For Sale)
OMF#9

Currently listening to The White Stripes

Pete M <pete.murray (AT) bogoffwithzepressedmeatblueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

In news:G-udnT-ulKAGaMzbnZ2dnUVZ8vudnZ2d (AT) pipex (DOT) net,
Vamp <None (AT) none (DOT) com> wittered on forthwith;
"SteveH" <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote in message
news:1hyhbo4.bmt7kshms5ksN%steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk...
SteveH <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Well, that was...... exciting.

Bad form and all that, but the pro shots are in:

http://www.photodirectuk.com/MSE07/1...20Alfa%20Romeo
/index.htm

Quite disappointed that he failed to get any footage of anyone
sideways with plumes of smoke.


when sorting the brakes sort the suspension like how much body roll!
looks a giggle mind

Body roll doesn't mean bad handling or grip, if anything a bit of body roll
is much better than none (unless it's a Xantia Activa).

The roll didn't bother me, to be honest.

The brakes are much more of an issue, though - if I really hammered it,
I got one 'out' lap, 4 quick laps and one 'in' lap. For the afternoon
sessions I was much kinder to the brakes and managed 6 laps between the
in and out laps.
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

In news:1hyhdls.17qy9b61w9q1fpN%steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk,
SteveH <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wittered on forthwith;

Pete M <pete.murray (AT) bogoffwithzepressedmeatblueyonder (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

In news:G-udnT-ulKAGaMzbnZ2dnUVZ8vudnZ2d (AT) pipex (DOT) net,
Vamp <None (AT) none (DOT) com> wittered on forthwith;
"SteveH" <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote in message
news:1hyhbo4.bmt7kshms5ksN%steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk...
SteveH <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Well, that was...... exciting.

Bad form and all that, but the pro shots are in:

http://www.photodirectuk.com/MSE07/1...20Alfa%20Romeo
/index.htm

Quite disappointed that he failed to get any footage of anyone
sideways with plumes of smoke.


when sorting the brakes sort the suspension like how much body roll!
looks a giggle mind

Body roll doesn't mean bad handling or grip, if anything a bit of
body roll is much better than none (unless it's a Xantia Activa).

The roll didn't bother me, to be honest.

The brakes are much more of an issue, though - if I really hammered
it, I got one 'out' lap, 4 quick laps and one 'in' lap. For the
afternoon sessions I was much kinder to the brakes and managed 6 laps
between the in and out laps.

Braided hoses, Brembo discs, Mintex fast road pads. You'll be fine.

Although those bloody awful inboard things on the back of a 75 are never
wonderful.


--
Pete M - Using the Scouse Side of the Force -
Golf GTi Mk2 2.0 8v
Wood and Pickett Range Rover V8 Turbo
Golf GTi Mk1 (For Sale)
OMF#9

Currently listening to The White Stripes

SteveH wrote:

Well, that was...... exciting.

<snip>

Sounds like you had a laugh. I fancy trying a track that goes round and
round a bit myself now.

--
Douglas

"Chet" <usenet (AT) retro-renault (DOT) com> wrote

SteveH wrote:
SteveH <steve (AT) italiancar (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Well, that was...... exciting.

Bad form and all that, but the pro shots are in:

http://www.photodirectuk.com/MSE07/1...20Alfa%20Romeo
/index.htm

Quite disappointed that he failed to get any footage of anyone
sideways with plumes of smoke.


I have to say, its looking tidy. There was a white 2.0 up for the same
money
as the saab when i got it but the saab was much nicer, the 75 was a dog. I
seen a black 2.0 up for 1200 last night, chaps selling cos he got a v6.

The brother was on a track day a week or so ago

http://www.retro-renault.com/fq400

Not his first time out but the first time he bothered to get the pics

nice track toy he has there :-P