Ekona

Thank god that's over and done with.

Nah, I enjoy track days as much as anyone, even just passengering, so I couldn't possibly take anything more than a free lunch as it wouldn't feel right to me. Think of it as a service to a community that's given me plenty over the years more than anything That said, if folks want me there when they're at Laguna Seca I probably will have to ask for contribution towards the air fare at least

Biggest issue with Bedford is that it's so flat, which makes learning it and picking out braking points awkward at best. Personally I find the more challenging tracks easier to learn, and I was up to speed much faster at somewhere like Spa than I was at Bedford. Plenty of run off is always good though, we all make mistakes on occasion

I'm not sure I claimed anything different. Still, may only be a novice but I least I have a clue what to do when you've lost control of a car

ARDS, did it at Bedford in the sheddiest VX220 I've ever had the misfortune of driving! The gearbox really was shot, it was like stirring a bucket of bricks. It wasn't difficult at all, just driving at 8/10ths round the track a few times. The worst part was knowing a spin was an instant fail, as was getting any flag question wrong in the exam. Never have I studied standard motorsport flags so hard in my entire life... Do it fella, I reckon that would be a very rewarding prize to have waiting at the end

Every petrol head should own an Elise-chassis car once in their lives. There is nothing in the world that can compare to one.

I have a race licence, yes. Other than that I'm just an enthusiastic amateur happy to pass on a bit of knowledge and have some fun with it

If anyone is interested, and assuming schedules work out for me, then I'm happy to spend a day with someone in the car on track helping them out. No charge, just cover the cost for a 2nd driver on your car (purely so I can take you out at some stage to point out specifics so you can concentrate on what I'm saying, I have no need to be thrashing your car on track!) and buy me a burger for lunch and that'll do me. If it's a day when I'm there in my car as well then no need for extra costs as all, as I'll just go out with you when my car's cooling down. I did this the other weekend for a fellow Zed driver on here and it was very productive, they showed massive improvement from the start of the day and were putting some serious laps in by the end. It was their first time on track as well, which was even more impressive! I think we both had equal amounts of fun from that day, I really enjoyed instructing as much as driving.

Great wheels, they're copies of the original Speedlines for the VXR. Man I feel old, I remember when the original GB for those was happening! Very nice fella, well chuffed for you

WIll, you need to stop the car in as short a distance as possible. You said yourself to let go of the steering, so does it matter if you have none when you're not holding the wheel anyway? You're 100% wrong on this. If you have lost control of the vehicle, and being in a spin is the very definition of that, then you need to stop the car ASAP. Hitting the brakes hard is the exact way to achieve this.

Welcome to the world of the Lego brick! Is it on Exige size wheels? Sounds like a cracker, if you get a chance take it to a Lotus specialist and get them to put the 340R road settings on it, absolutely transforms the car.

Never do this! When in a spin, both feet in; i.e. hard on both clutch and brake. You want to be removing speed ASAP as you've lost control of the vehicle, but you also want to keep the engine running. I didn't see a lot wrong, just one of those things that happens when you're pushing on, especially on that corner. Tbh if you don't spin at least once on track then you're not pushing hard enough You got very lucky though, entering grass near on sideways is the single easiest way to flip a car on trackday.

Agreed, I hate those things. They're a fad that needs to die, and soon. Not keen on the slightly droopy rear lights either.

Please bin those awful eyelids, they completely ruin what is otherwise a great and tasteful looking car

No, I don't think you do. If you really need someone to hold your hand whilst they talk you through the many, many ways a TV show format can be copyrighted, then I'm afraid I have better things to do with my time. Instead, I shall sit here in the smug superiority that I know that I'm right. Sometimes, that's all that matters.

Lucky man. I trust this is a lesson well and truly learnt?

Any chance of getting that in UK time Will?

Well, for one the name The Stig is copyrighted! If you don't understand how copyright works, then it's not really something I can be bothered to explain. Suffice to say there's a reason that we don't have a million and one things that are identical. Would your example be parody and allowed? I very much doubt the BBC lawyers would agree.

Show formats are copyrighted all the time. I'm not saying it wouldn't be similar, but it couldn't be identical. For example, The Stig could not be transferred over, and nor could a man in a plain colour race suit who does not speak and gets introduced with a "Some say/All we know is" comment. Having someone professional go and set lap times is obviously okay, that's very generic.

I'd watch a show done by the three of them, if it were a different format.

They wouldn't be able to do the same format on another channel. Ignoring anything to do with copyright for a second, there's the fact they'd have 15mins less time each hour for stuff anyway so something would have to give.

£60?! Bloody hell, what format?

Define 'best'?

Maybe, or maybe it's someone pulling a figure out of their arse on a crappy sale ad

Shame you'll miss the CBW at St Saturnin. If you haven't booked already, I'd seriously suggest getting there on Thursday so you have the entire Friday there to muck around and chill out. Get to LM town centre EARLY for the driver's parade. Seriously. It's great though, I watched the parade last year then spent a few hours afterwards getting paralytic in town whilst trying to drunk call Lexx, then stumbled back to my tent after catching up with various other groups of drunken folks trying to carry each other back their tents, lost my decent Oakley glasses and finally found my tent about 4AM. One of the best nights I've ever had at LM!