Ekona

So, Spa then. Certainly a weekend of mixed feelings, and weather! The Saturday didn't start off too well, as the forecast light snow became heavy snow and started settling as we set out for the sighting laps, so the track was quickly closed and didn't reopen fully until 11am. Essentially, it was a wasted morning but hey ho, not a lot you can do about the weather. The actual snow wasn't too bad, however the ambient temp was -2c which meant that ice had started forming in the braking zones, which clearly is somewhat dangerous. Temps never got above that all day long, and the wind chill was bitter. I've mentioned the Impreza before, but for reference it's a 2005 STi with the PPP putting out 319bhp, and shod with OEM RE070 tyres. It also has the DCCD which lets you shift the amount of lock on the diffs rearward 70/30 or lock them 50/50, or anywhere in-between. I always drive in 70/30 mode, however given the track conditions I decided that leaving the diff mode in auto was probably the wisest course of action. Suspension is standard, and the brakes are Godspeed own brand pads and discs, with RBF600 fluid in. There is no feeling in the world that compares with the first time you drive up Eau Rouge, not even a lap of the Ring or Hangar Straight at Silverstone. It's utterly incredible, and far steeper than it looks on TV. I guess I'll drop the video in now, terrible lines and pace from me however in my defence I would gently remind you all of the conditions As far as the rest of the circuit goes, I'm in two minds over it. From La Source to Pouhon it's terrific, but after that I found myself getting a little bored with it. That could well be because of the weather, as with little grip you cannot use the power and get the real pace from Stavelot through to the Bus Stop, but still I found it lacking a bit. The first half though is easily as interesting as anything else I've ever driven, and technical as hell though. The Impreza was flawless all day, although the tyres don't offer much grip on snow and ice so the 4WD wasn't as helpful as you might've thought. It was great fun though, and put paid to my belief that all wheel drive might be dull on track. It really isn't. Top whack was about 128mph which I only achieved the once, as after braking for that the pedal went very soft and to the floor almost, so I think the brakes need some attention if I'm to turn this into a proper trackday toy. Sadly the day was blighted somewhat by my mate Mark, who had hired one of BaTs' Caterhams, stuffing it into the wall after Les Fagnes right in front of me. Luckily it was a very slow impact (enough to snap the steering though) and he was fine, but it did dampen the spirits in the afternoon somewhat. About 10 mins after the car came back to the garage on the back of a low-loader there was another Cat which binned it at Raidillion, and then another 15 mins after that saw another one go off somewhere else so the attrition rate was quite high for the day. Everyone was okay though, which is the main thing. A silver CLS 65 AMG was also driving somewhat excitedly and drifting through every corner, however the talent didn't match the angles and he threw it against a wall, probably writing it off looking at the damage. Due to the way he was driving, there was little sympathy for him from the paddock. Sunday morning was fun, as the snow came down very heavily overnight and the back roads to the motorway were interesting to say the least! That did at least allow me the fun of sliding the car up the wide, abandoned roads with joy whilst the guys behind me in an S2 Elise and a 997.1 T4S were struggling Would I go again? Yes, I would, but it would need to be in the summer to give myself the best chance of actually getting a dry day.

Check to make sure the neighbours haven't just installed a new wireless doorbell as well. Seriously.

I'm in two minds over this. Vettel broke team orders, and should be punished (but won't be). Mark did everything as he was told and came second. Seb has three world titles. Mark has none. You can kinda see where I'm going with this. Yes, it was stupid and irresponsible and caused a hell of a lot of problems for Christian in the coming weeks, but really it counts for very little. Mark is never going to win a WC at RB, as he's clearly the no.2 there, but at his age he has no chance of going anywhere else. Seb knows he's untouchable, as if RB p*ss him off then he'll ship off to Ferrari and earn a whole load more cash whilst still being in a competitive car. Even in the interviews, when Marko came out and said that Seb was in the wrong, Christian was very careful not to criticise the golden boy for fear of him jumping to the red team. You cannot run a team like that, and Mark was incredibly restrained post-race, far more than most drivers would've been. Imagine a Kimi or a Lewis in the same situation...? Truth is, Mark is almost as toothless as Massa. Ah yes, Lewis. I make no apologies for him being my favourite driver, and today I should've been celebrating as he got a podium in only his second race for Mercedes. And yet, it didn't particularly feel like celebrating any more than Lewis himself did. Both him and Nico showed immense respect for each other and Ross with their reactions both during and after the race, and whilst neither will sleep well tonight at least they know where they stand and can continue to work as a team. In truth, the whole situation makes me feel a little uncomfortable as an F1 fan. On the one hand I'm glad team orders are now out in the open, on the other they killed this GP. On one hand Seb was a c*nt, on the other that's exactly what you expect a WC to do. Lewis is the Merc no.1, but clearly doesn't feel he deserves that and if he doesn't believe it, then why should anyone else? I'm not sure if there's anything positive to take from any of this at all, except maybe that it was one of the greatest races and post-race that I've witnessed in recent memory.

Well, considering we actually managed to see some track action on Saturday as opposed to today which was completely cancelled, it's safe to say I booked the right day at least. That said, Spa in the snow with patches of ice at various points does make for an 'interesting' track Will do a proper write up in a bit, just trying to sort the video footage out.

E-penises and rose-tinted spectacles.

Ferrari V12 from the FXX programme please.

Front doors, back doors, side gate, she'd get the f*cking lot.

Cleans anything, does that stuff. Even Dirty Cheryl's filthy stained lady garden.

Bloody hell, what a mess! Drain the oil and start again. You know exactly how much you have in there then.

If you don't have a slush fund, don't get a Porker with a water-cooled non-DFi engine. You've a 5-10% chance of IMS failure, which means a 5-10K repair bill. I'd buy an Elise, even if it was only for a year just to say I'd done it. Every petrolhead should own one at least once in their lives.

It's closer to the TT really. Good looking car, shame it's fail wheel drive and a bit rubbish to drive by all accounts.

They're not skinny legs, they're bloody perfect Cheryl is a dirty scrubber covered in dodgy ink, and I wouldn't touch her with anyones unless she'd been in for a funnel/Lucozade/scrubbing brush job first. Horrible whingy little thing.

So what's the actual budget then? And how are fixed for running costs (fuel, tax, insurance, servicing), and what about a slush fund for if something goes really wrong?

Nice vid Mark, thanks for posting that

I packed everything last night: Clothes, helmet, racewear, tools, fluids, cleaning stuff, passport, cameras, the lot. Except a pair of trainers. Now I have to go home and pick them up instead of leaving straight from work. Knobhead!

I don't think anyone said they were dangerous. I came closest with my comment I guess, but I meant it more as a general rule rather than ZOMG YOU'RE GOING TO DIE LOLZ. Speaking from experience, cheapy discs do not last anywhere near as well as a decent name, and neither do they stop you as well. Personally I quite like my brakes to not warp after 500 miles and to stop me when asked to, but each to their own.

No great surprise, and tbh I wasn't a massive fan of the new stuff on their recent Greatest Hits 2 album so I won't miss them that much. I'm still bitter that they made you buy that album if you wanted pre-sale access to the latest tour, which I refused to do as I already own the original greatest hits anyway. I suspect they saw that these tours didn't sell out and so they made a commercial decision rather than a musical one. The Chemistry tour and the Greatest Hits tour were two of the best shows I've ever seen in my life, right up there with Muse at Leeds a few years back, during their Origin Of Symmetry time. Also, Nadine has the best pair of legs I have ever seen in my entire life.

'Tis a proper BaT track day. They're doing a double header but I didn't fancy pounding the car that hard for two days straight.

Track insurance, mostly. Bit too pricey this time round, and since we may or may not be getting rid of the Impreza this year it would be rude not to do at least one track day in it. I'm toying with the idea of taking the 911 to the Ring in August...

You've been then? How did you find it?

Sssssshhhhhh the bastards haven't got me yet!

I squash potatoes with my bare feet and put the juice from that in my tank

Off tomorrow evening towards Folkestone, ready for an early AM crossing on Friday and heading towards Belgium all set for my first trackday at Spa First time at Spa, as well as first European circuit and first current F1 circuit, so I'm really looking forward to it and seeing how it compares with 'normal' UK tracks. Jo has very kindly lent me the STi for the weekend so I won't have to push the MX-5 up Eau Rouge, and since I've never tracked that either it's a proper weekend of firsts! Still need to fit a harness bar and wash the car tomorrow at work at some point, and I'm not even packed yet so it may be a late night. Will be taking my GPHDH3 with me too which I've yet to use (again with the firsts), so hopefully I'll be able to get some decent footage of the day. Fingers crossed the snow holds off

Maybe she was a serial nagger?

Golden rule of putting things on your car: Ask yourself what is the worst thing that can happen if that part fails. Once you have that answer, you can decide on how best to spend your budget.