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PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 4:51 pm 
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The various MR2 clubs are having a trackday up at Donington on the 18th March organised through Bookatrack. Due to them being unable to get sufficent numbers Bookatrack have opened it up to the general public for booking.

Should be a good day with decent number of Toyota's present, I did a day at Donington before with the MR2 guys, it was great fun and the GT-Four got some nice interest and favorable comments.

I'm currently provisionally booked but will be confirming this over the next few days. :)

http://bookatrack.com/

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:19 pm 
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Ohhh I really fancy a little track time, however I am a track day virgin and so I have a few questions. . . .

Is this a good starter track?

Is there anything special i need to do or buy before hand?

I am planning to run with my every day wheels and tyres, this isn't going to cause me any issues is it?

Is there anything obvious I am forgetting to ask?!!!

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Some people are like a Slinky .. Not really good for anything, but they make you smile when you shove them down the stairs!


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 1:29 am 
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Lucey,

Donington is an excellent circuit which is really suited to the GT-Four, it's also a modern high end circuit in terms of facilities and circuit maintenance. The corners have decent run-off so the risks of bending anything should be minimal. More to the point Bookatrack run decent trackdays and are pretty strict with any fooling around or dangerous behavior.

Stuff to do to your car beforehand, make sure your fluids are all topped up and that the engine oil was changed recently. Remove all the unneccesary items from your car like toolkits etc. In terms of things to buy I can't think of anything you really need for your first day but make sure you have some decent shoes with thin soles so you can feel the pedals properly.

Running your regular tyres is not ideal although I would think that on a first day hopefully you'll be taking it fairly easy so should not experience too much wear, by increasing the tyres pressures a bit you can reduce the impact.

Thats my 2p :)

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 8:54 am 
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You'll need some duct tape to hold the top of your head on after your first session.
You'll be grinning so much it'll fall off! :lol:

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 2:07 pm 
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Cool - sounds good!

Any other track day virgins out there fancy joining me on a beginners lap!! :D

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 5:19 pm 
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After missing out on castle coombe last year, i'm still a virgin. loosey i would be happy to join you. :wink:

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 6:32 pm 
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I have a set of 17s here with illegal Pilot Sport 235x40 (IIRC) tyres on them if anyone wants to borrow

One caveat though.......
One of them is currently flat and has proved tricky to re-inflate as the wheel is oval. I have had this in the past and believe it needs to be reseated with a little tyre sealant but it would most likely require a tyre shop to do it

The tyre does deflate slowly (like a couple of weeks) and all are illegal so they're no use to me as road rubber anymore. I have D01s for those nice dry track days though :D :D

Not sure if I want to risk a track day at the mo. I'm uncertain about the health of my engine and I'm commited to a bunch of DIY projects which is denting my "what if" fund at the mo :(


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 6:38 pm 
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Forgot to say Donnington is an excellent circuit for the 4 too. It's quite quick but not frighteningly so and there's very few really tight bends which eat tyres and really don't suit the 4
Plus the run-off is very generous. It is one of the best tracks out there for the novice GT4 driver in my opinion.
Just to throw a little argument into things though....
I still disagree with Mike. I think you might need to deflate your tyres a little. Running on track (unless it's wet) generates significant heat which increases overall pressure. I generally either drop the pressure or leave it standard and see what it ends up at ;)
Donnington is quite tyre kind though :D so don't worry about it too much

Someone needs to persuade "Pit Garage" Boyack to go though. I've never seen a another man with quite the same space securing ability :lol:


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 9:03 pm 
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Thank you Steve for the kind words :oops: Donington has demolished all their old pit garages and have fancy new ones now.

Loosey, I know its a long haul for you but Donington is worth it. Good track for an ST205 and a track day virgin. I won't be taking my own car on track but am happy to cart spare wheels and other pit bric-a-brac. I have a shiny new electric wheel nut gun I'm dying to try out :mrgreen: Also, if anyone wants some tuition I'm happy to sit with them.

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 10:07 pm 
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If I go are you brave enough for a second sitting? (should there be an H in that?)

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 11:38 pm 
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Been there and got the t-shirt at CCombe chicane :lol:

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 12:06 am 
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Don you may live to regret that offer ! seriously though any help would be great. steve i think the trick with inflating that tyre is to bounce it quite hard on the ground turning it as you inflate, re locates the bead. well thats how the experts seem to do it ??

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:12 pm 
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had a fab day at donington today. always nice to c Mike and Don.
heres a few pics.

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:15 pm 
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Andy - was great to catch up today. :)

Fantastic pictures, if you have any larger versions feel free to mail them to me at Sirius@gt4dc.co.uk

Cheers :)

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 11:25 pm 
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will do mike :)

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