Autosports track day: Wakefield, 19th July 2008

Goulburn turned on some great weather for the tubo cars again – about 12 degrees (freezing cold with the wind chill) and clear. I showed good consistency again, putting together a lot of laps in the mid 1:13’s. When I went for a look at the timesheet about midday, I saw I had run a 1:13.02 – another PB! I was very happy, but was determined to go home with a 1:12.something.

I went out in my second last session, and improved fractionally to a 1:12.99, so I got it! Funny that it’s 3 thousands of a second faster than the time above, but sounds so much better. Anyway, I was happy to improve my PB another 0.6 of a second.

I spent the final session of the day practicing a few more techniques that John Boston suggested; in particular a bit of left foot braking through corners where a gear change is not required. It’s a bit nerve racking, because the muscles in your left leg aren’t conditioned to apply gentle pressure, and it can result in some terrible lock-ups as you get used to it (see pic). Things are getting there though, and it’s certainly a valuable skill so I’ll persist with it at upcoming days for sure.

The down side of the day was that Dave (from Silvia NSW) wrote off his Skyline. He wasn’t totally accustomed to the new brake pads he was using, made an error on the fastest bit of the track, and planted it into a wall. It was very disappointing for him, and it also reminded me that this stuff IS dangerous. He was mostly ok, but visibly gutted - years worth of work (and quite a few dollars no doubt) all gone.


After a few months of contemplating, Dave actually bought a Silvia too. Already a dedicated track car, he's building it to his taste, and it should be super quick in the future.