Part 11: Back on track
Back to Hampton Downs today for my very first solo big boy track day after completing my training with Mike from Tracktime earlier in the year.
What's a track day, you ask? Why – do you work for the company that provides my car insurance? Because they had absolutely no idea what one was. Well, I'll tell you. In short, you get to take a car – anything from your daily driver to a specialised track weapon – and drive it around a motor racing track as fast as you like. There are other cars on the track at the same time as you, but you aren't racing against them. If someone faster comes up behind you, you just let them past on a straight with plenty of space. It's a time to hone your driving skills (and have fun, but don't tell the petrol-heads that).
The day started at 9:30 when I, about 65 other men and one woman gathered in the Tracktime pit garage. We were treated to a typically brisk run through the safety regulations; what the flags mean, don't speed in the pit lane, don't drive like a dick head, etc, etc.
We had already been divided into three groups – Prestige 1, Prestige 2 and Road/Race – based on car performance and experience. Below is the schedule for the day. As you can see, I was in the Road/Race group. You can also see that the day is broken up into multiple small sessions of 15 minutes each with a decent break in between each – to let both car and driver cool down and recover.
The 'Prestige 1' group included Porsches, Lotuses, an Alpine, a Yaris GR and a spicy GT3 Lambo.
Below is the 'Prestige 2' group. Looks like I need to start saving up for a Porsche...
My group, 'Road/Race', featured a few other GT86s, some Golfs, some older BMWs and a Mitsubishi Evo 10.
For the first session I had booked one of the Tracktime instructors to help me find my feet. However, it was all a bit of a busted flush. I was supremely out of practice and was driving like a total buffoon, forgetting many of the basics. As I've mentioned before, it can take me a little time to get my brain in gear. My instructor, Tom, was spoon feeding me advice like I was a total beginner. To be fair, I was driving a bit like one. Thankfully I was saved by the session getting red flagged after 2 laps because another driver broke down. Tom generously agreed to join me later in the day because our coaching session had been cut short. I resolved to remember how to drive in a moderately competent fashion by then.
As the day went on I uninstalled, then reinstalled my brain. I wrote down pointers and read them before each session. Don't turn in too early.. brake hard then trail off at a 45 degree angle.. get on the throttle sooner than you think.. and the rest.
It worked. By the afternoon I was feeling calm and focussed, and I was feeling good about my driving. When I was joined by Tom again in the final session I think I genuinely impressed him. His advice was now very specific and technical to help shave fractions of seconds off particular corners – rather than how to hold the steering wheel. He praised my lines, confidence and commitment and remarked that the difference to my driving in the morning was night and day.
As for my trusty steed, he finished the day still in one piece, although his tyres have been well and truly flogged:
As for me, it's feeling like all the hours of practice are falling into place. Driving now feels like an extension of myself rather than riding a mad bull. I know how to drive fast, confidently and somewhat competently. It was a superb day, one that I can't wait to repeat.
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