Keyser Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 As some of you know I went to a track day at Keevil Airfield yesterday (Friday 31st August) and I said I would let you know how it went. I arrived early at around 8:10AM - The gates open at 8AM and sign on is 9AM, the organisers were busy setting their stuff up and a couple of other drivers were there already. More cars were arriving by the minute and a fair few different vehicles showed up - great atmosphere, everyone was very friendly and all there to have a good time. After sign on (9AM) the Drivers brief was at 9:30AM this was supposed to be followed by 3 sighting laps but we had a 30 minute delay as the ARMY pulled up to wait for this - Who dropped this on the airfield (Sorry phone pics) Then onto the 3 sighting laps and back to the pits. They then ran 3 15 minute sessions (you get put in a group when you sign in) and then onto open pit. As we lost 30 mins to the Army they reduced lunch to 30 mins so no track time was lost. The circuit itself is not very long and a little bumpy in places, it's typical old airfield lots of panels in the tarmac. The straight is not very long but long enough to require hard braking at the far end The first bend is a long sweeping right hander and very, very wide so you get to carry some real speed and pull some G's that straightens into a 110(ish) left (bumpy) down the straight into another left (great sliding out of that), a short straight into a cone chicane, you come out of that into another short straight at the far end you find the hairpin :scare) also the point that the caterhams seemed to spin, and then you do it again and again and again - you get the idea Having been out in several cars yesterday I can say it suits the smaller lighter cars more than it suited me in the Zed (I may just be bad on short circuits) but I still had a great day. My Day was not uneventful though after several laps of the track the Zed was running well , my brakes got very hot but never let me down and I managed to get the oil up to the 120 degree alarm once (with an oil cooler ) then at about ten to three fast approaching the hairpin she coughed and the steering went OMG! - on the clutch, right indicator on desperately trying to slow down and haul the car straight and coast to a halt of circuit alongside the pit lane exit. Bonnet up and a we found the problem What's left of my main drive belt - it also did this to the bonnet and as you can see something missing That's was the end of my driving time but by no means the end of my days fun. I got back to the pits and after telling at least 30 concerned (some may be just nosey ) fellow track dayers the problem, the group of guys I parked with were great within 10 minutes I was offered a passenger lap in this O that was so much fun amazing car weighs in at 720KG and as the driver said it may not be as fast in a straight line as the Zed but it corners - O does it corner every time we went through the chicane I was giggling like a little school girl it's so different to the Zed with half the weight to transfer it effortlessly changes direction and although lacking the mid range torque of the Zed she carries so much corner speed it was still impressively fast at the end of the straight where again she sheds the speed effortlessly - no front end dive just nice level braking while I "floated" in the full race harness - Brilliant experience and a big thanks for that Came back in had a coffee at the van and the guy parked on my left said "You coming" as he put his helmet on - rude not too, I thought as I grabbed my lid - although the fact that he had spun twice today already did cross my mind as I did the helmet up that little bit tighter! Completely standard,177K on the clock a rusty zorst and immense fun. Driven by a young lad from London, who said after 3 track days this month he had worn his decent tyres out and couldn't find / afford anything decent for today, so he put the old alloys and tyres that came with the car when he bought it - he said they were a mishmash of cheap anything Off we went - fairplay he did not in any way let the squealing complaining wallowing tyres detract from how fast he entered the corners he threw it round the track, and although not as refined as the Lotus the little MX 5 was great fun he did come out of several bends (after IMHO deliberately over gunning her) with back end hanging out to which if I'm honest we both giggled Then the ZedShed pit crew arrived (My long suffering wife and eldest daughter) with a selection of spanners and a spare Drive belt 20 minutes later we were back on the road and heading home. I will be investigating why it failed today but it may just be it failed and S**t happens. A few pics from before it all went wrong - All in all a great day out - anyone want to do it again soon????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Looks good. Sorry I never made it over yesterday but I spent the day playing courier in a bid to get my car back sooner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimm Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Is a good place, glad you had a good run and a great day. Any reason for the belt tearing off like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Looking good, looks like you had a good day for it and were having a blast before your belts let go. Very much looking forward to being down there in three weeks time Looks to be a nice mix of machinery down there as well, im a real fan of the OPL format at these days, the variety of cars you get is astonishing, although the caterhams and elises are favourites! Did the R8 and GTR i see do any hot laps? Also the cameraderie is great at airfield days, when i was going on airfield days everyone was more than happy to have a chat and offer a ride - good to get a group of like minded enthusiasts together who are often ken to show off their rides, and it means you can ride in some cars you would never otherwise get a go in - if you've never been in a caterham at full chat, its an experience not to be forgotten! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Interesting write up Last did Airfield (Abingdon?) many years ago. Was testing a 309Gti tarmac rally car - but the brakes weren't up to it - then the power steering threw fluid out and I had smoke pouring out from around the disks - then I received a phone call to say that my mother-in-law had backed my other car across the drive and ploughed into the side of my house - then it rained - then I got home and managed to get a prolapsed disk attempting to drag the car out of the house. Happy days. They always seem to throw in one of those really extreme hairpins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Change pics to VIDEO! Glad you enjoyed it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 I have one vid - no sound and the picture is not great as it's not working properly - will post it up later. @ Pimm - not sure yet may just be one of those things or maybe I have a problem, been having a tidy up today in the ZedShed hope to investigate tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Looks like a great day Chris. Shame your belt went, I hope is was a one off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren-B Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Nice one Chris, I really hope I can come along to the next one later in the Month. I always keep a space belt in the boot, along with a couple of sockets/spanners I know it`s extra weight but it can save your ass sometimes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisS Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 I always keep a space belt in the boot, I new you were special Darren, but not that special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Looks like you had a good day out, must be good to stretch the cars legs after the build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Those wheels certainly fill those arches don't they?!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choptop Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 These track days are great fun. Sorry to hear it was cut short by the belt going. Put a new one on and you should be good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Looks like you had fun. Do you think it was an overly tight belt or a loose one that caused it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andlid Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 great you got out on track in her! Shame about the belt, wasn't it a new belt? hope it's S*it happens and won't happen again. Hoping to hit a track next month if not sooner Can't wait! Great writeup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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