Finally got round to writing up the promised report on a fantastic opportunity we had at the weekend - hope you enjoy the pics - there are lots of them so apologies if it takes a while to load - they have been reduced in size so shouldn't be too bad. Links to video clips on You Tube are at the bottom of the page....
Special permission required!
At the weekend I had the opportunity to drive the van around the Top Gear track, at Dunsfold Park, Surrey. We had a club event there with the 7 – a so called ‘Handling Day’ – should be renamed a ‘hooning day’ – just about the most fun you can have with the car, sliding up a slalom, 0-60 and a ‘freestyle (donut) area! (Incidentally, whilst we were setting up the cones the evening before, I tried the van on the 0-60 strip. I got to 40mph before the space ran out and heavy braking was required)
This is what we were supposed to be doing!
But actually this was even more fun!
As part of the day, members can donate to the club charity (Leukaemia Research) and drive a couple of laps of the famous Top Gear track in their Caterhams – the programme is filmed here. We took the van as our ‘support vehicle’ – carrying tyres and bacon sandwiches. With special permission we were able to drive a few laps with the van during a break, and take some pictures. At the end of the day we also took a few people for some laps, for a suitable donation to Neuk the Leuk.
Also in attendance was nothing less than a Ferrari 599GTB – a 612bhp, 200mph + supercar. Owned by a good friend, laps in this were raffled off, but it would have been rude not to make the most of it, so Mark became our chase and camera car for a lunchtime practice! You can see the results on our YouTube page, with various cameras being used!
Basic camera car used.
What a blast! I must stress that our van is absolutely standard. A 1968 Bay window campervan, with a 1600 single port engine, and about 40bhp! Speed was not an option. Actually, it is surprising how well these things hustle along, and with momentum being the key; smooth driving and a good line are essential. Having said that, on the first few laps, I ignored the freshly painted track lines on the runway, and instead concentrated more on not under-steering off into the grass, or rolling a tyre off the front wheels!
Place your bets....
The van performed brilliantly, and never complained once about the sound thrashing it got! Turn in was accompanied with a certain amount of roll, but it was all pretty controllable, and the ‘drums-all-round’ seemed to brake true and straight into the Hammerhead corner. A very strong headwind that was blowing down the runway curtailed any acceleration out of the Hammerhead and down the long straights on the runway towards the last corner. I reached about 55mph approaching the heavy brake into the Hammerhead - and yes, the Follow-Through was flat out! I think I peaked at about 60mph down the main back straight, but the wind must have cost at least 5mph! The van handled Gambon very well, despite caution from me, as I really didn’t want to roll! A few pictures from a lap:
All important start.
Some minutes later!!
Into Chicago! (That glass-fronted building in the distance is used by McLaren/Mercedes to host customers who have just bought one of their SLR supercars - they all come to Dunsfold to be shown how to drive their new 200mph car.)
Heading into the Hammerhead corner.
Flying through the Follow-Through at about - ooh, 50mph!
Screaming past one of the Dunsfold landmarks - this 747 was used in the filming of 'Casino Royal' - note the 'fake' engine pods...
I think you will find this is the line Lewis Hamilton took...!
I need to stop the end of the front bumper flapping around!
Little bit of lean perhaps...
Cutting corners for that racing line caused the engine lid to pop open...
...and across the line! (note the victory salute/relief inside the van!)
At the end of the day we gave a few laps to people who had perhaps not been able to do the track in a Caterham, or who were too young - all loved it! The ride seemed to cause much laughter, and a slight intake of breath as we rolled into the first hard corner! All agreed it was a unique experience and that they would never look at the track on TV in quite the same way, with at least 2 people coming back for more. One admitted that although they had lapped in the caterham, this was even more fun. It really was a unique experience, and it just went to show that power really isn’t everything – as long as you are pushing the vehicle to its limits, however low, you can have fun on-track in anything.
The kids who had a ride were delighted to be able to claim that we were held up by some Caterhams, who unbelievably had pulled out infront of whilst we were on a 'hot lap', and proceeded to trickle round on our racing line (they were returning Marshalls) You can hear the abuse we gave them from inside the van in one of the videos below!
In anticipation of the opportunity, I had fitted an uprated Anti Roll Bar to the van the day before – the only modification. This would be a good test! Results were very promising – the dive into corners that manifests itself when braking into a roundabout, was massively reduced, with the van remaining much more level and not lurching as much. I had also replaced old dampers with new, but have retained the standard soft set up for the comfy ride. The only downside I have noticed is a slight increase in noise as you drive over potholes at the side of the road, as the thicker ARB seems to crash the wheels a little bit. However, overall impression is very positive, and I would recommend…
We took some video footage from various vehicles, and the results can be seen on my You Tube page:
First one shows the result of show down between the Van and the Ferrari :lol:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hFdq1tXQTCI
Slightly different view:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kDxjW4aqr48
The kids (and mum!) enjoy their Top Gear lap:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eMPG49QfDL8
There are a few other variants up on my You Tube page (along with many other videos to entertain any petrolhead):
http://uk.youtube.com/user/caterhamnut
Huge thanks to Mark for playing with us with his 599 – it made the experience even more hilarious. Thanks to Steve and Peter F for making it possible in the first place, and to the brave souls who donated to Neuk the Leuk in order to come for a ride, and to Mark and Peter C for some brilliant photos to remember the day with.
A gentle drive in the country
Special permission required!
At the weekend I had the opportunity to drive the van around the Top Gear track, at Dunsfold Park, Surrey. We had a club event there with the 7 – a so called ‘Handling Day’ – should be renamed a ‘hooning day’ – just about the most fun you can have with the car, sliding up a slalom, 0-60 and a ‘freestyle (donut) area! (Incidentally, whilst we were setting up the cones the evening before, I tried the van on the 0-60 strip. I got to 40mph before the space ran out and heavy braking was required)
This is what we were supposed to be doing!
But actually this was even more fun!
As part of the day, members can donate to the club charity (Leukaemia Research) and drive a couple of laps of the famous Top Gear track in their Caterhams – the programme is filmed here. We took the van as our ‘support vehicle’ – carrying tyres and bacon sandwiches. With special permission we were able to drive a few laps with the van during a break, and take some pictures. At the end of the day we also took a few people for some laps, for a suitable donation to Neuk the Leuk.
Also in attendance was nothing less than a Ferrari 599GTB – a 612bhp, 200mph + supercar. Owned by a good friend, laps in this were raffled off, but it would have been rude not to make the most of it, so Mark became our chase and camera car for a lunchtime practice! You can see the results on our YouTube page, with various cameras being used!
Basic camera car used.
What a blast! I must stress that our van is absolutely standard. A 1968 Bay window campervan, with a 1600 single port engine, and about 40bhp! Speed was not an option. Actually, it is surprising how well these things hustle along, and with momentum being the key; smooth driving and a good line are essential. Having said that, on the first few laps, I ignored the freshly painted track lines on the runway, and instead concentrated more on not under-steering off into the grass, or rolling a tyre off the front wheels!
Place your bets....
The van performed brilliantly, and never complained once about the sound thrashing it got! Turn in was accompanied with a certain amount of roll, but it was all pretty controllable, and the ‘drums-all-round’ seemed to brake true and straight into the Hammerhead corner. A very strong headwind that was blowing down the runway curtailed any acceleration out of the Hammerhead and down the long straights on the runway towards the last corner. I reached about 55mph approaching the heavy brake into the Hammerhead - and yes, the Follow-Through was flat out! I think I peaked at about 60mph down the main back straight, but the wind must have cost at least 5mph! The van handled Gambon very well, despite caution from me, as I really didn’t want to roll! A few pictures from a lap:
All important start.
Some minutes later!!
Into Chicago! (That glass-fronted building in the distance is used by McLaren/Mercedes to host customers who have just bought one of their SLR supercars - they all come to Dunsfold to be shown how to drive their new 200mph car.)
Heading into the Hammerhead corner.
Flying through the Follow-Through at about - ooh, 50mph!
Screaming past one of the Dunsfold landmarks - this 747 was used in the filming of 'Casino Royal' - note the 'fake' engine pods...
I think you will find this is the line Lewis Hamilton took...!
I need to stop the end of the front bumper flapping around!
Little bit of lean perhaps...
Cutting corners for that racing line caused the engine lid to pop open...
...and across the line! (note the victory salute/relief inside the van!)
At the end of the day we gave a few laps to people who had perhaps not been able to do the track in a Caterham, or who were too young - all loved it! The ride seemed to cause much laughter, and a slight intake of breath as we rolled into the first hard corner! All agreed it was a unique experience and that they would never look at the track on TV in quite the same way, with at least 2 people coming back for more. One admitted that although they had lapped in the caterham, this was even more fun. It really was a unique experience, and it just went to show that power really isn’t everything – as long as you are pushing the vehicle to its limits, however low, you can have fun on-track in anything.
The kids who had a ride were delighted to be able to claim that we were held up by some Caterhams, who unbelievably had pulled out infront of whilst we were on a 'hot lap', and proceeded to trickle round on our racing line (they were returning Marshalls) You can hear the abuse we gave them from inside the van in one of the videos below!
In anticipation of the opportunity, I had fitted an uprated Anti Roll Bar to the van the day before – the only modification. This would be a good test! Results were very promising – the dive into corners that manifests itself when braking into a roundabout, was massively reduced, with the van remaining much more level and not lurching as much. I had also replaced old dampers with new, but have retained the standard soft set up for the comfy ride. The only downside I have noticed is a slight increase in noise as you drive over potholes at the side of the road, as the thicker ARB seems to crash the wheels a little bit. However, overall impression is very positive, and I would recommend…
We took some video footage from various vehicles, and the results can be seen on my You Tube page:
First one shows the result of show down between the Van and the Ferrari :lol:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hFdq1tXQTCI
Slightly different view:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kDxjW4aqr48
The kids (and mum!) enjoy their Top Gear lap:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eMPG49QfDL8
There are a few other variants up on my You Tube page (along with many other videos to entertain any petrolhead):
http://uk.youtube.com/user/caterhamnut
Huge thanks to Mark for playing with us with his 599 – it made the experience even more hilarious. Thanks to Steve and Peter F for making it possible in the first place, and to the brave souls who donated to Neuk the Leuk in order to come for a ride, and to Mark and Peter C for some brilliant photos to remember the day with.
A gentle drive in the country
