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Author Topic: Ferrari track day at Silverstone  (Read 4441 times)

vintly

  • Guest
Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« on: October 28, 2012, 12:36:29 PM »
Happy days - just had a call from a work colleague asking if I'd like to take part in a Ferrari track day at Silverstone tomorrow. Needless to say I said yes in a flash. Took the call minutes after the Indian GP ended, unreal. Wish me luck - if my go-karting past is anything to go by I'll be shabby at best. No idea what's really in store, it's a corporate thing organised by a supplier of ours - keeping us sweet with lunch and a track day. I'll post some pics!

:yahoo:



Offline Scott

Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #1 on: October 28, 2012, 03:19:34 PM »
Wow - have a blast.  And remember, you can't find the limit unless you cross it a few times.   ;) ;)   :good: :good: :good:

On the way to the track, go buy yourself a gopro camera and dash mount it.
The Honey Badger doesn't give a...

David

  • Guest
Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #2 on: October 28, 2012, 03:32:32 PM »
Lucky lucky man! Have a great one!  :good:

Offline John S

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Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #3 on: October 28, 2012, 04:12:00 PM »

Way to go Vintly.  :yahoo:

Hope you like ice racing, with the wintry blast we've just got you should pack your thermals, windy Silverstone can get awfully chilly.  :D

Racing is Life - everything else is just....waiting. (Steve McQueen)

Offline Ian

Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #4 on: October 28, 2012, 04:19:17 PM »
Brrrr, chilly day forecast for tomorrow vintly, but you'll enjoy it.
An aircraft landing is just a controlled crash.

vintly

  • Guest
Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #5 on: October 28, 2012, 05:17:07 PM »
Looks like 10 degrees C and dry tomorrow afternoon, should be ok. I'll try and find that limit, if they haven't hauled me off already. A go-pro would be great.. But don't tempt me, my arm's easily twisted! (Ok I'm tempted.) Expect a report / confession / pics tomorrow eve.

Offline F1fanaticBD

Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #6 on: October 28, 2012, 06:37:54 PM »
I am sure Vintly the racing Gods had a pity when you said that you are a arm-chair petrol head, so thy shall be treated by the best of the bunch, The Ferrari..

All the best wishes, and looking forward for your photos and experience..
Keep running the fast cars, you will be never out of girls

vintly

  • Guest
Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #7 on: October 28, 2012, 07:05:15 PM »
Heheh well spotted BD, that amused me too. Problem is I'll anger the gods further with my apparent disregard for the divine racing line, my coarse abuse of the pedal of truth, not to mention the inevitable biblical swearing.

Hey-ho, not my problem being an atheist, the gods can think what they like!

Offline cosworth151

Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #8 on: October 28, 2012, 07:53:07 PM »
Outstanding, Vintly! Have a great time! We'll be looking forward to your report.

Ya know, I don't know if Ferrari has actually signed Massa yet, so do your best & show 'em what you've got!   ;)

The Wiz was talking about getting a GoPro in the Chat Room today.
“You can search the world over for the finer things, but you won't find a match for the American road and the creatures that live on it.”
― Bob Dylan

Offline F1fanaticBD

Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #9 on: October 28, 2012, 08:11:53 PM »
Actually that is the way of racing god...
Keep running the fast cars, you will be never out of girls

vintly

  • Guest
Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2012, 11:34:32 AM »
Yesterday's track day was a blast, here's the low-down. Apologies for the essay, hopefully not too boring but I thought worth writing for my own benefit too, nice to have a record:

Bit of background - I work with a company called Spanlite, we make edge-lit LED feature walls amongst other things,  and buy quite a few sheets of acrylic to edge-light. Our UK supplier Amari invited us to come on this track day. The event was paid for by the acrylic manufacturer in Germany, he was supposed to come but crashed his car on the way to the airport and never made it to the UK!

We met for a bite at Whittlebury Hall, a hotel / golf course / spa very close to the track. Their Silverstone bar has hundreds of framed photos of all the F1 greats through the years, mostly taken at Silverstone, plus some cabinets with race-suits and stuff on show. Bit of general business chit-chat, introduced to chaps from two other clients of Amari, then we were off to the track.

It was a dark sky, the ground was a little damp but at least it wasn't raining. Drove into the circuit and over the Hangar Lane bridge to an in-field carpark by the Driver Experience centre. Not the main building or pits unfortunately, but felt quite special to be inside the track. There were various types of cars going round the circuit – single seaters, Astons, Ferraris, Lotuses - looked busy. Signed in, basic safety briefing then down to another building just inside the track at Stowe. We were given a helmet and led to the car park.

We were to have 5 laps driving a Renault Mégane Sport, then 4 laps in a Ferrari 360 followed by a passenger lap in a Nissan Z 350. We were advised that the Renault was very forgiving – front-wheel drive and full of gizmos, and that the Ferrari was the opposite. We were only using half the full track. After Village there's a link to the beginning of the Hangar Straight, so we missed out Brooklands, Luffield, Woodcote, Copse and Becketts. We were to get a de-brief and an assessment form with an overall score after the drive. The pdf in the link below contains all the details, plus scans of the Driver Experience brochure showing other cars you can drive.

First up the Renault. Out of the car park and fed onto the track just before Club. I didn't really get to grips with it – lifted off in corners and nearly span at least once, didn't brake hard enough and missed my turn-in point numerous times, went from 5th to 6th instead of 5th to 4th twice. There's cones on the track to indicate braking points, turn-in points and clipping points – really enjoyed flooring it up to the braking point, but wasn't stamping on the brake hard enough. With zero track experience I guess I didn't adjust very well. Only just getting the hang of it and remembering the track, then it was time to come in. Great fun but slightly frustrating. I wasn't expecting to be particularly good, but it made the wait for the Ferarri drive that much more nervy. One of the other chaps felt he did much better.

Next, the Ferrari. Never really driven a sports car in anger before. With some trepidation I left the car park and hit the track. Immediately my right foot was catching on the underside of the brake pedal, unnerving, I should have worn narrower shoes! Quick foot adjustment and we were off. Instructor-chap chatting away, telling me when to change gear and all that – paddle-shift gears are fantastic, and the noise of course, beautiful. The pit straight into Abbey was lovely, definitely the most fun part of the circuit, although passing under the Hangar Lane bridge was cool. It was anything but silky-smooth, but I was starting to really enjoy it, and relieved the back-end wasn't stepping out at all, felt solid on the track, and with the benefit of the Renault drive I'd remembered the track better. Few spots of rain but didn't seem to make any difference. Over in a flash, I only got three laps which was a bit tight.



Then a lap in the Nissan, driven by a very young chap. Huge wheel spin out of the car-park, gratuitous drifting, a touch of handbrake through Village and an evil line taking a lot of kerb made for a really exciting minute or so. Brilliant.

The de-brief: After my poor show in the Renault I got a favourable mark in the Ferrari, scoring 88%. Two other chaps scored 87% and 83%, so I guess I won at Silverstone heheh. It's a ridiculous mark really - anyone with an ounce of experience would have completely trounced me, but I'm not complaining. He said I had good speed and confidence, but was very tense. Happy with that - the score sheet's in the pdf.

I'd recommend it if you're not paying - think it's about £200. I paid extra for the video (£25 I think) and photo (£20!) plus a £10 damage waiver, but no complaints – a one-off experience to cherish. The journey home to Brighton was hell - huge rainstorm followed by an hour of gridlock on the M25. It's a hard life eh?

The video was a little disappointing - came out very dark - not helped by the weather of course. I brightened in a bit in software, but the quality isn't great. And it looked so  s l o w.  Wouldn't be surprised if we barely got over 100mph, maybe a bit more. Anyway, I've speeded it up! Let me know if you really want to see the normal speed version, but I warn you it's a bit dull.

PDF: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3141319/F1/vintly_Silverstone.pdf



Offline Scott

Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #11 on: October 30, 2012, 02:43:14 PM »
Fantastic Vintly - really interesting and fun to read.  Like we got to tag along (albeit in the back seat  ;) )
The Honey Badger doesn't give a...

Offline cosworth151

Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2012, 02:52:34 PM »
Well done, Vintly! Looks like you did well. Thanks for the report.

Another victory for Team Wizzo!  :yahoo:
“You can search the world over for the finer things, but you won't find a match for the American road and the creatures that live on it.”
― Bob Dylan

Offline lkjohnson1950

Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #13 on: October 31, 2012, 05:42:55 AM »
Your line looked quite good to me. Once you know where to go, it's a matter of practice to get the most out of the brakes and tires. Most important thing is to have fun, and it seems like you did.  :good:
Lonny

David

  • Guest
Re: Ferrari track day at Silverstone
« Reply #14 on: October 31, 2012, 08:51:47 AM »
 :DD I watched this video on my PC in work with no sound without reading the story properly. I thought "Jez this guy I flat out", I could believe how hard you seemed to be going. Now I've taken the time to read your story and rewatch the video with sound I feel a bit of a plonker!

Looks like a great day out, one I will have to myself some day. Whittlebury Hall Hotel is a nice place, I've been to a few conferences there. There is some cool stuff in the cabinets and hanging on the walls in that bar. 

 


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