Event Autoshite Track Events

[gm]

monday 24th june

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/4xP2ZzcsvSGVLVVP/?mibextid=WC7FNe

£45 per car for 3 hours ! 

[gm]

the weather forecast for tomorrow is scorchio so it looks like perfect track day conditions (sweaty helmets aside !)

i will be taking the Exo on its maiden track outing, @DVee8 is taking the mx5, his lads both signing on as extra drivers.

@Mi30n is also planning on being there in his “crispy biscuit” mx5 although i’m not sure if it will be going on track or not.

should be a fun day out anyway  

 

[gm]

i just checked their website and it’s currently showing 34 places still available !

i bet there’s a last minute rush, it’s never quiet when the sun comes out 

[gm]

i've booked the day off work, you know, just in case  

[gm]

On 23/06/2024 at 22:04, gm said:

the weather forecast for tomorrow is scorchio so it looks like perfect track day conditions (sweaty helmets aside !)

i will be taking the Exo on its maiden track outing, @DVee8 is taking the mx5, his lads both signing on as extra drivers.

@Mi30n is also planning on being there in his “crispy biscuit” mx5 although i’m not sure if it will be going on track or not.

should be a fun day out anyway  

 

copied over from my Exo / mx5 page 

 

 

Exo made her track debut this evening : 

but who’s that in the driving seat ? 

bloody @DVee8 that’s who !  

we had booked both the exo and the mx5 for the track evening down at teesside autodrome, and a whole lot of fun it turned out to be ! 

youngest son Adam only passed his test last year so hadn’t been on track yet - i volunteered to take him out in the mx5 and give him some pointers so @DVee8 and older son Ben got first dibs in the Exo 

and we did some hooning ! those poor little cars took a sound thrashing and kept coming back for more 

the Exo had been experiencing a bit of a wobbly headlight that wobbled its last when i got behind the wheel  

no matter, i just moved it along the bracket into the next available hole and called it job done  

i’d been out in the exo quite a bit, so fancied a go in the mazda, turns out we’d left the brakes somewhere near the hairpin - not in a dangerous way but it was a sign to let things cool down a little. 

so i’d had a go on the mazda and the exo, dvee8 had had a go on the mazda and the exo, Ben had had a go on the mazda and the exo so it seemed only fair that Adam had a go too.

he did a great job driving the mx5, listened to the advice and was obviously learning quickly.

so i let him loose on the exo

and he bloody loved it  

an excellent day out !

[gm]

[DVee8]

That was a great write-up, cheers mate.

It was a great evening out, I didn't expect to be the first out in the exo. It was/is a different beast around the track than on the road. You have to work at the car, the handling is unlike any other car I have driven,  the steering talks all of the time. As it's so light the power is always available but the tyres need heat.

 

[gm]

sod the christmas shopping, this is the sort of black friday nonsense you should be spending on  

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17RksW2h1w/?mibextid=wwXIfr

[gm]

first one of the season down at teeside this friday 

i think @DVee8’s lads are heading down there in the bini cooper, i’m thinking of bringing the exo out of hibernation early if the weather is good 

anyone else tempted ?

[DVee8]

18 minutes ago, gm said:

first one of the season down at teeside this friday 

i think @DVee8’s lads are heading down there in the bini cooper, i’m thinking of bringing the exo out of hibernation early if the weather is good 

anyone else tempted ?

They are both at work, N01 has just picked up a 1-3 shift. Also I have the Bini this Friday.

[The Moog]

Booked myself on to a hot hatch day 10th may at Knockhill.  

I think I have tempted @NorthernMonkey to head north and pop his track cherry! 

[gm]

hot hatch day, you say ? 

 

i’m sure things have changed a bit since then  

[The Moog]

Having a grand day out.

A couple of track weapons

 

Some of our fellow track companions 

 

[The Moog]

I am sure @NorthernMonkeywill be along with his thoughts on piloting a 21 year old 1.4 Rover 45, with 18 year old tyres and solid brake discs on front round Knockhill. 

 

The spiderwebs didn't even get blown away so he can't have been going that fast!

 

My mpg for the day, down from the usual 48. 

[gm]

sounds like you had a great time - was that @NorthernMonkey's first time on track ? he certainly chose a good one - Knockhill is such a good circuit, I really need to get my arse up to Scotland some time soon and do some laps in the Exo (I'm just not totally convinced about the 3 hour drive each way)

 

[NorthernMonkey]

2 minutes ago, gm said:

sounds like you had a great time - was that @NorthernMonkey's first time on track ? he certainly chose a good one - Knockhill is such a good circuit, I really need to get my arse up to Scotland some time soon and do some laps in the Exo (I'm just not totally convinced about the 3 hour drive each way)

 

It certainly was…it won’t be the last one though!

Looking forward to getting the yellow peril finished and taking it around there! 😂

[gm]

14 minutes ago, NorthernMonkey said:

It certainly was…it won’t be the last one though!

Looking forward to getting the yellow peril finished and taking it around there! 😂

do you not still have an mx5 stashed away ? get yourself over to Teeside next month and give it the beans  

 

[NorthernMonkey]

I have but it hasn’t run for a year or so. It was always destined to be a parts donor for a certain project I had in mind but that’s taken a different turn now!

[gm]

1 minute ago, NorthernMonkey said:

I have but it hasn’t run for a year or so. It was always destined to be a parts donor for a certain project I had in mind but that’s taken a different turn now!

i’m pretty sure that the “scrutineers” at teeside don’t check /give a fuck about the mot status of what turns up - i say : if it runs, bring it on  

[gm]

it’s something crazy like £50 per car, i’ll be doing 15th june, fingers crossed for a bit of good weather 

[scooobydont]

Worth looking up tracktion nights at Knockhill, they do mid week track sessions, there is actually one tomorrow, no idea how prices compare though:

https://www.facebook.com/tracktiontrackdays

[gm]

nice one - £140 per car isn't much more than I was paying 7 years back when I lived up there and was a regular, I'll keep an eye on dates 

[dome]

Tracktion days are pretty good. We used to do them fairly regularly. A good mix of folk and some interesting cars. 

I quite often pop up to spectate if I'm not doing anything, it's free to get in. 

[scooobydont]

Open pit as well so you can come and go on track as you please.

[Metal Guru]

I’ve never done a track day,  but wouldn’t you get through a set of brake pads, and possibly tyres too? That makes it a very expensive day out. 

[gm]

14 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

I’ve never done a track day,  but wouldn’t you get through a set of brake pads, and possibly tyres too? That makes it a very expensive day out. 

I guess it depends on what you are driving, and how you are driving it - I have a spare set of wheels with semi slick tyres that have seen many track days and still have life in them (as long as it doesn't rain) I use them on both the mx5 and exo, both fairly lightweight cars, so wear isn't really a concern. brakes do need to be in good condition - when I was selling my previous mx5, I found numerous receipts for brake pads in my history folder but, at that time, I was on track every few weeks. I recall one session up at KNOCKHILL where I'd fitted a set of cheap eBay pads which we killed in less than two hours ! two hours of proper fun though  

most trackdays I've been on have been "open pit lane" so you can spend as much or as little time on track as you like - so quite a bit of time is spent hanging around in the pit lane chatting with other drivers - it's a very sociable atmosphere, particularly on a nice sunny day. 

[NorthernMonkey]

Been at another event today with Mrs NM as guests of one of the sponsors at Supercarfest in Northamptonshire.

I dread to think how many 10s of million of pounds there was flying up and down the runway!

 

[gm]

I bet the noise was incredible !

[gm]

myself and @320touring are heading down to teeside tomorrow if anyone fancies joining us ? 

£45 per car for three hours on track is crazy good value

plenty of places available at present but will sell out if the weather is good

 https://flow.alphatiming.co.uk/teesside/book/activity/YU5tAUz_3kCTpQVkNsc19AB4/availability?d=2026-06-01

 

 

[gm]

spectators free, passengers £20

driving license, helmet, long sleeves and long trousers compulsory 

shit eating grin - guaranteed