Entry has been accepted for Gurston Down on Sat 23 June. Looking forward to it.. just hoping it's stopped raining by then..

Steep learning curve at Gurston Down yesterday. Luckily it was great weather for hillclimbing and stayed dry all day. Set myself a target of a 45 second run - this is about the record for my type of car (standard, sub 1400cc and on normal road tyres)..

First practice run was a positive 46.38, so thought there was plenty of time to find. However, this didn't happen until the last run of the day where I got down to 46.14.. so sort of happy but frustrated.

There were a couple of places where I found myself "in between" gears and hopefully this should mean I can find some time by doing something a bit different. That'll be next year though.

Some footage of the last run of the day here:

Very nice run - really must get myself there. Have done Prescott, amongst others, a few times, but only in my Renault Spider. Reckon a wet day in the 4x4xRotrex would be great fun! Looks like a nice course.

To be honest, Gurston is probably too quick for the Panda, but it's more technical than it first appears. The final drag up to the finish line was frustrating - the seonds ticking by! The run times were fairly consistent (went through the first speed trap at 67mph on every run), but a couple of places where I could cut some time.

Gurston also run a hillclimb school, which I'd recommend to anyone with an interest in motorsport.

The Panda gets it's last run of the year at Wiscombe on 8th September. Fingers crossed that the weather stays dry, would make a nice change (although it would probably be more competitive in the wet).

Will report back, will be interesting to see how the Koni's feel.

Exactly. For road going production.. Some nice sticky yokos, about 120bhp and lose 150kgs (at least).. Easy!

Almost perfect weather at Wiscombe today.. Very foggy (and delayed start) followed by a damp morning. Had a personal target of 52 secs, which is about the record for a standard sub 1400cc car.

Runs went 54.3, 53.8 then 53.8 in perfect conditions.. very frustrating and toys out of the pram moment.. Last run of the year was this:



Ended with a 52.5 sec run. Happy with that.

Speed licence arrived today, so finances permitting I should be able to do a few events again this year. Currently looking at:

27 Apr - wiscombe
22 Jun - gurston down
07 Sep - wiscombe
19 Oct - castle combe

Just running in road spec on everyday tyres, so won't be winning anything but should be entertaining.

Season started yesterday.. nice sunny day in Devon. Events at wiscombe park are always excellent. Best two runs were an identical 52.6, a tenth off my best last year.. where can I cut more time??

http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=/#/watch?v=zInGyP-G-fU

Will have another go later in the year.

Have you tried left foot braking? It can help on some fast corners.

bazman said:

Have you tried left foot braking? It can help on some fast corners.

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That's something I haven't dared to do! Not sure any of the Wiscombe corners are quick enough...

Spent the day at Gurston Down hillclimb school. Managed to come top (out of about thirty and you got marked by instructors).. No-one knew what the car was and a couple of instructors admitted that they were very surprised. So, there's two more days and if no-one beats my score then I get a full free day at Thruxton race school. I learnt quite a lot, which I suppose is the point. Looking forward to the event in June.

You have to remove the brake light switch as when you LHB and throttle on at the same time the ecu can cut the power for a few seconds. Its worth a practice on the next hillclimb I think.

Dan Friel said:

Season started yesterday.. nice sunny day in Devon. Events at wiscombe park are always excellent. Best two runs were an identical 52.6, a tenth off my best last year.. where can I cut more time??

http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=/#/watch?v=zInGyP-G-fU

Will have another go later in the year.

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I think you lost a bit of time with the first gear change and the first hairpin. Other than that pretty clean. It's amazing how you can pick up a 10th here and the on minor things but it makes all the differe

Gurston Down on the 22nd June coming up. Having had an excellent day at the recent hillclimb school day I'm hoping for faster times than last year. Fingers crossed for the weather.

Are you on Piston heads Dan?

I'm doing Curborough on 6th July. Do you have any tips for that track? It is my first time on track.

Rmdinho said:

Are you on Piston heads Dan?

I'm doing Curborough on 6th July. Do you have any tips for that track? It is my first time on track.

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Yes, post on PH now and again..

Never been to Curborough. What's the event?

Thought I recognised your name. I'm deadmau5 on there.

It's just an open day organised by a guy off clio197.net. £60 for a full day which seems very reasonable. Sadly it's fully booked but I think they do one every couple of months.

Back to Gurston Down today. Very miserable morning and no quick times. Rain against after lunch but got an ok run right at the end. Not completely dry. Just 2/100ths slower than my quickest ever time, so not too disappointed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF4Ysk5AG90

Hi, guys I'm a bit of a very newbie here - I get my panda tomorrow!
The thing is I want to do what Dan is doing,(great job) sprint the car, run in class SA.
Tyres, could you explain about the lists please.
From what I understand the car must be standard to run in that class am I correct.

Neil