A day racing at Brands Hatch
Posted by: Chillkram on 13 September 2007
On Tuesday I went on a Brands Hatch raceday and had a fantastic time.
First up we went kart racing on a small circuit which was great fun and I spun off a few times but it was good to get used to the racing line. Unfortunately I thought the instructor said that the throttle was on the left. I was surprised when I was left on the grid at the start until I worked out it was actually the brake I was pressing! Next we took some Megane Renaultsport 230 F1 Team R26s around the circuit to learn where to brake and where to turn into the corners with the help of strategically placed cones. Unfortunately the red mist descended as soon as I got on the track and I just hammered it all the way around, right on the limit through the corners and not listening to a word the instructor said. I got a severe telling off! This was to prepare us for the track before jumping into a Formula Brands single seat racer so I was a bit nervous after my shaky performance. I needn't have worried, though as I actually found it easier to drive than the Renault and they were limited to 4000 revs..
That's me!
Next we had some rallying lessons in a Peugeot 206 and this was the best fun of the day, learning to slide the car around the corners using the handbrake...
That's me again!
After that we had a great time flinging some Caterham 7s around, then these odd buggy things with 2 engines. Finally we took some Land Rover Defenders 'off road'.
It was a really enjoyable day and even though I proved to be a pretty crap driver (4th from bottom overall) I would definitely do it again.
The full experience is pretty expensive but some of the smaller packages are pretty reasonable. I thoroughly recommend the rallying and the single seat racing to anyone willing to give it a go.
Mark
First up we went kart racing on a small circuit which was great fun and I spun off a few times but it was good to get used to the racing line. Unfortunately I thought the instructor said that the throttle was on the left. I was surprised when I was left on the grid at the start until I worked out it was actually the brake I was pressing! Next we took some Megane Renaultsport 230 F1 Team R26s around the circuit to learn where to brake and where to turn into the corners with the help of strategically placed cones. Unfortunately the red mist descended as soon as I got on the track and I just hammered it all the way around, right on the limit through the corners and not listening to a word the instructor said. I got a severe telling off! This was to prepare us for the track before jumping into a Formula Brands single seat racer so I was a bit nervous after my shaky performance. I needn't have worried, though as I actually found it easier to drive than the Renault and they were limited to 4000 revs..
That's me!
Next we had some rallying lessons in a Peugeot 206 and this was the best fun of the day, learning to slide the car around the corners using the handbrake...
That's me again!
After that we had a great time flinging some Caterham 7s around, then these odd buggy things with 2 engines. Finally we took some Land Rover Defenders 'off road'.
It was a really enjoyable day and even though I proved to be a pretty crap driver (4th from bottom overall) I would definitely do it again.
The full experience is pretty expensive but some of the smaller packages are pretty reasonable. I thoroughly recommend the rallying and the single seat racing to anyone willing to give it a go.
Mark