gm

were you driving around with that beer stuck on the roof ?

bad news about your car but your neighbour Helen deserves a bunch of flowers for that

at least you don’t have the oil cooler on the 1.6 engine, that is a pig to replace the pipes on

I had the same pipe burst on a previous mx5, annoyingly once fixed another one burst, I fixed that then another one went and I gave up and replaced the bloody lot. 8mm fuel hose from Halfords is much cheaper than the proper Mazda hoses and works just as effectively.

I've been out checking over the car and it's held up well, the oil level hasn't dropped which it normally does, coolant and steering fluid are both fine, on the downside, the front brake pads are like beer mats and the tyres...well, lets say its good that it stayed dry they've still got another track session in them, I reckon, but probably best not to use them on road anymore !

poor quality vido taken from the pitwall

that certainly looks like an inappropriate choice of vehicle but I bet it was still a load of fun !

more vidos to come once I've sorted out the editing

A good selection of cars in attendance last night, half a dozen mx5s, several civic typeRs, integras, clios, 3-series bmws, a screaming mini cooper S, a puma, a couple of peueots, a Porsche 928 and a kit car with an mx5 turbo engine. Driving standards were very good, with only 3-4 stoppages in the whole three hour session. They ran an open pit lane arrangement, numbers were limited on track at one time, you just join the queue in the pit lane and are let out as someone else comes in, in reality, there was never more than a couple of minutes wait to re-join the action. Teeside is a short, twisty track which ideally suits small agile cars such as my little mazda, there was a skyline and an evo there but I don't think they got many laps in. I'm not sure how long a lap of the circuit is but I racked up a stonking 125km in the three hour session, probably not a kick in the arse off 100 laps ! half a tank of fuel was consumed and my tyres shall now be considered 'track use only' as the remaining tread may as well be drawn on with a marker I spent a bit of time chatting to other drivers, the atmosphere was very friendly and relaxed, quite a few had family / friends along for passenger laps and to hold the coats. at £40 per car, £20 per second driver and £10 per passenger, it was unbeatable value, I will definitely be becoming a regular here.

"right then lads, remember, this is a trackday, not a race" "yes, sir" "so what is it, lads ?" "a trackday, sir" "and what is it not, lads ?" "a race, sir" "ok lads, go and have some fun" fucking hell, you couldn't have more fun for £40 in Thailand ! well, maybe you could, but it wouldn't last for three hours ! what a cracking session, the next one is 1st July, get it in your diary now

excite !

neat bit of design that, I've seen these for sale but never figured out how they fit. should make a big difference to your brakes

it's trackday time again lads ! tonight, I'll be heading to Teeside Autodrome for an open pit track session, last time I was there, I crashed AVO into the tyre wall so will be hoping not to repeat that particular feat this session is open to all and sundry so may be saddled with a bunch of boy racers but it's pretty cheap for three hours of track time, I'm willing to give it a go. anyone else fancy a look along ? http://www.teessideautodrome.co.uk prices are £40 per car, £20 per additional driver and £10 per passenger. helmets are not supplied so you do need to bring your own lid bloke I spoke to reckons that as they don't take bookings in advance, you need to be there before 4pm to get a place