Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted June 8, 2018 Posted June 8, 2018 The worrying thing is, that’s not the worst thing Chris has done this week! Quote
Kingster Posted June 8, 2018 Posted June 8, 2018 3 minutes ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary said: The worrying thing is, that’s not the worst thing Chris has done this week! Oh yeah? You swine! Quote
TAFKARM Posted June 8, 2018 Author Posted June 8, 2018 Ah man, we rushed to Calais but there isn’t an earlier crossing! Time for a brew I suppose. 1 Quote
TAFKARM Posted June 8, 2018 Author Posted June 8, 2018 Finally back in the UK, getting a bit tired now. 1 Quote
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted June 8, 2018 Posted June 8, 2018 1 hour ago, RussH said: Finally back in the UK, getting a bit tired now. I’m not surprised! Mad as a box of frogs What a fantastic day out. Quote
TAFKARM Posted June 9, 2018 Author Posted June 9, 2018 Home. Thank you and goodnight zzz got to be up at 630! 2 2 Quote
Kingster Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 4 hours ago, RussH said: got to be up at 630! Good Morning! (Me too) Quote
DonPeffers Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 19 hours ago, Chris King - Webmaster and Joint North East AO said: Picture appears similar to one in a car mag. review and it now seems possible the journo. had a weak bladder or scared himself. Fantastic trip Russ and respect. Quote
TAFKARM Posted June 9, 2018 Author Posted June 9, 2018 So now I’ve had a bit of chance to chill out - was it worth it (yes) , would I do a day trip (yes) in the interest of full disclosure - the start point was my friends house in Cambridgeshire - To get there and back in a day from my house up north would have been borderline suicidal. For timings - we didn’t hit any traffic. The days of getting from Calais to the ring in under 4 hours are firmly filed in ‘mispent youth’ . Need to allow 4.5 hours and even then there’s no hanging around having coffee breaks. We arrived around 2 and the track didn’t open til 1715. We ended up doing 4 laps without letting the car cool down at all and just to swap seats. It was a rush and we had to leave by 1830. Next time, I’d pick a Saturday that the track is open all day, pitch up at 2, lap, then head back a touch earlier. We’d have been home by midnight if we had managed to catch an earlier train than the 2330. Based in two in a car (diesel) all in cost each inc crossing, fuel, laps, snacks and lunch was just over £200. (Laps are 30 Euros each now). The Honda had fresh front pads before hand (coincidentally) but other than that zero prep. Standard road tyres obviously. In terms of pace, the 120 horsepower beast made a good account. I spent most of my second lap hassling a focus ST. Dave was much quicker, he’s a better driver than me. Knowing the way round makes a huge difference. The complete lack of power only really showed on the long uphill between bergwerk and the karrussel, I can’t remember the name. It was painfully slow up there but chance to take a breather. Had a bit of brake fade toward the end but not too bad (probably because the car was so underpowered) So in conclusion. Would I day trip it again, yes, but not for a first timer. Absolutely no time to do anything else other than laps, and it’s a pleasure to soak in the atmosphere up there. Would I take the westie? Probably not - that said if you took it steady it would be fine. I just can’t take it steady. A lot of people say it’s on their bucket list. Just do it. Book a crossing and go. You can make all the excuses you like, but hopefully this shows it’s closer than you think and you don’t need a super fast car with loads of track prep to have a great time with some mates. 3 Quote
Howsafe Workwear and Safety Equipment Posted June 9, 2018 Posted June 9, 2018 you are truly a mad bar steward must admit I think doing that in a day is a young mans game - we did it over two nights with one hotel near the circuit so fresh to go in the morning, then a good night in Bruge on the way back Take my hat off to doing it in a day though Quote
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