Keevil airfield for a track newbie

[seb]

I'm absorbing all the great advice, thanks.
The issue I have is that I can't go on a weekday outside of school holidays and there are few tracks close by.

I woudln't worry about close... you can show up at a trackday at about 10:30 and still have a great day out. Coombe and Thruxton are about the same distance as Keevil ...and stay the night beforehand and the world is your lobster.

It would seem that Thruxton only allow their cars to be used on track days - I can't find a drive what you bring option. 

[RichardR]

This puts me off Castle Coombe in the wet :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ0-zkEyHIE&feature=fvw

[wasp]

It would seem that Thruxton only allow their cars to be used on track days - I can't find a drive what you bring option. 

Goldtrack have 2 days this year but they are at 90db limits which is a Thruxton village issue. The Atom is just too loud

Cheers,

Stu

[wasp]

This puts me off Castle Coombe in the wet :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ0-zkEyHIE&feature=fvw

Eek, going there for the first time in May....Please no rain...please no rain

[wasp]

Seb, I'm probably doing Abingdon on the 12th March if you fancy some moral support for your first track day. It's got a nice layout and I'm happy to offer some meaningless advice!

Cheers,

Stu

[seb]

Seb, I'm probably doing Abingdon on the 12th March if you fancy some moral support for your first track day. It's got a nice layout and I'm happy to offer some meaningless advice!

Cheers,

Stu

Thanks for the invitation, but I can't do 12th March.
It's one of the problems I have is that I can only do weekends or school holidays - sadly I'm one of those teacher types 

[Bod :)]

This puts me off Castle Coombe in the wet :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ0-zkEyHIE&feature=fvw

Eek, going there for the first time in May....Please no rain...please no rain

Coombe in the wet is pure evil, it was like driving on an ice rink - we drove faster on the road there and back than on track! That said, it was an unusual day - charity day giving rides and sharing the track with lots of very expensive uninsured metal! And that was on my old rubbish tyres.

Most of that vid however seems to be in the dry and purely down to over-enthustastic driving!


Bod

[RichardR]

Seb, I'm probably doing Abingdon on the 12th March if you fancy some moral support for your first track day. It's got a nice layout and I'm happy to offer some meaningless advice!

Cheers,

Stu

I'm probably up for this. Car's having it's service next week then it's go go go.

[wasp]

Seb, I'm probably doing Abingdon on the 12th March if you fancy some moral support for your first track day. It's got a nice layout and I'm happy to offer some meaningless advice!

Cheers,

Stu

I'm probably up for this. Car's having it's service next week then it's go go go.

Would be cool to catch up Rich, think it was at least 2 years since you and Nathan last rinsed me at Abingdon!

Cheers,

Stu

[Bruce Fielding]

This puts me off Castle Coombe in the wet :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ0-zkEyHIE&feature=fvw

To be fair, most of that action is at Quarry which is a REALLY hard corner to get right. (Yes, I've been know to get it ever so slightly wrong - but never actually hit anything no far...)  However, most of those chaps seem to have be overdriving for their talent quotient.

I wouldn't let that vid put you off.

[John H]

Having been on a number of airfield tracks (admittedly not either of those mentioned), there can be a tendency for gravel to be thrown up. In an Atom this isn't great news. In a new Atom, it means stone chips on your baby, which is awful.

Secondly, the standard of driving on a cheaper airfield day is not fabulous.

bang on the money Bruce.............would not take a new car anywhere near an airfield................almost like driving behind a gritter lorry

[Terry Kennedy]

bang on the money Bruce.............would not take a new car anywhere near an airfield................almost like driving behind a gritter lorry

I drove my Atom down the side of a mountain on the old Santa Fe Trail (not by design) on my way home from picking it up. This is the good part of the road:



On the way down, there were rocks sticking several inches out of the road (enough that the tub scraped many times, despite my trying to pick the best path). I later discovered that one of the hose clamps at the radiator was nearly cut through - less than 1/4 of the width was still intact.

[Top Deeeeeev]

Hi

My advise would be to go with someone who has been before and try and book some tuition.  Track driving is so so different to driving on the road, but so much more rewarding.

Go careful and practise being smooth with everything, throttle, braking and steering and the rewards will pay divedends.

........beware of other idiots and the addiction that will follow afterwards.

John

p.s. did you have a date in mind for Keevil?

[seb]

Yeah, thanks for the advice John. I think that the first date for Keevil has come and gone. I'll look for another one in the Summer. I am a little concerned about stone chips. Perhaps I shouldn't be.
S

[RichardR]

Yeah, thanks for the advice John. I think that the first date for Keevil has come and gone. I'll look for another one in the Summer. I am a little concerned about stone chips. Perhaps I shouldn't be.
S

Seb

I've done well over a dozen airfield days on  4 different circuits. I've never suffered any chipping.

The only chipping I've ever had was at Silverstone a few weeks ago (I think due to crap from the circuit works). At the end of the day, my newly painted bonnet was peppered with around 40 chips in it, oh and I had a cracked headlamp.

If you've got a standard colour (i.e. not aftermarket paint-job), even if you did get a chip or two, you won't notice them as the gel-cost is quite deep.