Just like that the winter is over, the winter build anyway, I am not sure about the weather. Although somehow, I had managed to book the perfect day. Who would have thought in early March we would have a totally dry and warm day with temperatures in the mid-teens? I certainly didn’t when I booked the day in January, I was expecting a damp day at best!
Heading into the first outing of the year I wasn’t 100% confident we would have a smooth day. Particularly after pretty much everything has been removed from the car and re-built. Until we get going there is always a thought in the back of my head telling me something will break! Some of the changes includes changes to braking system but that’s what test/shakedown days are for, to iron out any issues before the season gets underway.
After signing on and completing the normal formalities of a track day it was time to head out for sighting laps. Usually I wouldn’t be to concerned about sighting laps but Blyton Park is a circuit I haven’t driven on for over ten years so it was useful to familiarise myself with the track layout. After a couple of sighting laps I checked the car over in the paddock to check for leaks, loose bolts and anything in general that may be of concern. Annoyingly there was a minor leak from the clutch line, luckily that’s an easy fix with a new O-ring into the slave cylinder fitting. With that fixed the car was ready to hit the track.
Before getting into to some quick laps I had to calibrate the new brake setup. Garry from GR Performance had joined me on the track day and was available to offer some advice on this process. Once completed we started gathering some pace, dialling in the setup, brake balance and getting used to the car again.
By the end of the day we had racked up a significant amount of mileage with no major issues. The initial feel of the car was good with some strong progression compared to it’s performance last year. The car is now particularly strong under braking and feels stable in all areas. I feel like we are in a very strong place heading into Round 1 of the Time Attack Championship.
However, it wouldn’t have been a trip to a race circuit without having an off while pushing the limits and I always seem to do it directly in front of a circuit photographer. Before Round 1 we have one more track day planned at Cadwell Park on April 16th, an evening session at what is potentially my weakest circuit on the calendar.
