March 2012 -
New GP again, and the best weather yet - Silverstone warm, even hot! Unknown at any time of the year, never mind March - amazing! I was hoping to improve on last year, but ran into a bit of bother as a result of my clutch fluid preferring to be on the floor rather than working the clutch. Things got progressively more awkward until during the fifth (out of seven) session, the pedal went to the floor and stayed there. It wasn’t actually that much slower doing it all in 4th gear, but I had to call it a day - I had to get back to Derby and wanted to miss the rush hour. Made it OK and spent all Tuesday sorting what turned out to be a cracked hydraulic pipe so I could drive home.
Two videos this time - click each picture to watch, and listen to a lap (microphone in the boot!) here -
It was a huge treat to spend a day at Silverstone in March 2008, courtesy of Mgs On Track. The weather was perfect - sunny and cool.
Taking Bridge at 6000+ rpm was a blast!
The car was tremendous - absolutely planted, and fabulous brakes. I clocked up about 135 miles at 17mpg, finished bedding the brakes and didn't take too much rubber off the tyres.
March 2009 -
Mgs On Track came up trumps again.
Another excellent day, with the extra experience of a fairly heavy shower for the first session after lunch, and a gradually drying track thereafter. I arrived at a few corners with at least one front wheel not rotating, but the Avon ZZ3s were extremely sure-footed in the corners. It saved a bit of fuel and rubber anyway!
Before the rain came, I had the pleasure of an instructor session, which was super value. If a bit of boasting can be pardoned - I asked him if he would do a couple of laps before I took the driving seat, and he proceeded to take it round the corners at what felt like considerably higher speeds than I had thought possible. He evidently enjoyed the experience, as he said the car 'was lovely - tell the designer chappie he's done a good job!'
March 2010 -
Last time on the ‘old’ GP circuit - again a really good day, but the rain came a bit later, and I opted to miss the final session so as not to risk a ‘whoopsie’.
March 2011 -
This time it was the new GP circuit - perfect weather, not even cold! This time I had a video camera on board, so you can view the result if you click on the picture! It’s given me the chance to review my lines through the corners, so I reckon next year I should be able to knock off quite a few more seconds. The new section’s first corner. the Abbey right-hander, is one of the fastest on the circuit. If I can get it right, the following Farm left-hander might become quite interesting, too.
Welcome - Home - Silverstone
September 2013 -
Unlike the March 2012 heatwave, March this year was called off because of snow! It had the advantage of being rescheduled to September when the weather was very pleasant. Unfortunately the car failed to play ball with the same clutch hydraulic pipe failure as last year, this time in the second session. A great day spoilt!
March 2014 -
Back to March, and decent if cool weather. This was probably my best Silverstone day, enjoying all seven sessions trouble-free. The last session produced my best lap with all the improvements combining to record 2min59sec round the GP circuit. I reckon there are a couple of corners still with a bit more speed to find, but unfortunately I will have to wait for that chance, as 2015 was another mechanical problem, and now in 2016 we’re going to Donington instead. But click here for the video of that last session anyway.
March 2015 -
The jinx strikes again - second session as well, this time the left hand front wheel bearing decided it had had enough producing a bang and some interesting noises and rather a lot of free play. At least I was able to drive back carefully and get it replaced. As it was an original 19-year-old bearing I’ve since replaced its right hand partner ready for the new season. My fingers are crossed for the rear bearings, but they are much newer as they were replaced with the TF suspension upgrade.
