OcUK Jonathon Palmer Day - Drive an M3 GTP, Clio CUP, 911, Caterham 7 and more...

crinkleshoes · 11 Aug 2011 at 09:58

alexisonfire said:
Indeed!

I know bedford, i know FWD, and i know clio's very well, so it would be disappointing if i didn't

The RWD cars however, i will suck at. Never driven any in anger before, so i would be pretty slow. I am pretty fearless though, so if i do end up going, expect to see some spins!

I'm the opposite... I've never really tried racing any FWD cars.

I am however good at left-foot braking, so shifting the weight in to a corner shouldn't be too much trouble.

It's the Formula Jaguar I'm really looking forward to... have never had a go in a Formula 3000 car before

pcoltrane · 11 Aug 2011 at 10:45

crinkleshoes said:
I'm the opposite... I've never really tried racing any FWD cars.

I am however good at left-foot braking, so shifting the weight in to a corner shouldn't be too much trouble.

It's the Formula Jaguar I'm really looking forward to... have never had a go in a Formula 3000 car before

The Formula Jaguar is a long way off a Formula 3000 car though. One has a carbon tub, loads of downforce and a F1 engine ... the other is a spaceframed van diemen chassis with a Jaguar road car engine

That said it'll still be quite an experience if you've never driven a single seater before, and they are significantly quicker than any of the road cars you will drive on the day.

crinkleshoes · 11 Aug 2011 at 11:22

pcoltrane said:
The Formula Jaguar is a long way off a Formula 3000 car though. One has a carbon tub, loads of downforce and a F1 engine ... the other is a spaceframed van diemen chassis with a Jaguar road car engine
That said it'll still be quite an experience if you've never driven a single seater before, and they are significantly quicker than any of the road cars you will drive on the day.

Ah ok, assumed it was closer to F3000 than it is... meh... I'm not too up-to-speed with F3000, thought they were pretty much improved single seaters with a 3L V6... didn't realise they were more of a step-up than that... will have a look

It's still a single seater with a tasty engine.

I've driven (but not raced) a few Formula Fords... I used to race 125cc gearbox karts which have better acceleration (to about 80mph) and can actually manage a bit more lateral g-force than a FFord

pcoltrane · 11 Aug 2011 at 11:35

crinkleshoes said:
Ah ok, assumed it was closer to F3000 than it is... meh... I'm not too up-to-speed with F3000, thought they were pretty much improved single seaters with a 3L V6... didn't realise they were more of a step-up than that... will have a look

It's still a single seater with a tasty engine.

I've driven (but not raced) a few Formula Fords... I used to race 125cc gearbox karts which have better acceleration (to about 80mph) and can actually manage a bit more lateral g-force than a FFord

Oh yes - we were discussing the gearbox karts and FFords in your Spec me thread, I hadn't recognised the name

But you are right - it is still absolutely a proper single seater with plenty of power for something so light. They set them up soft and forgiving compared to how you'd race them - but thats no bad thing when you are only getting a handful of laps. You'll be right at home after the gearbox karts - perhaps I should put some money on some fastest times for you

Proper F3000 cars are a whole different animal though! Take away the rev limit they ran in F3000 and they are pretty much as quick as the F1 cars from the same period.

BTW - for anyone sat on the fence - these Palmer days are absolutely second to none, I can't recommend it enough.

crinkleshoes · 11 Aug 2011 at 11:55

pcoltrane said:
Oh yes - we were discussing the gearbox karts and FFords in your Spec me thread, I hadn't recognised the name

But you are right - it is still absolutely a proper single seater with plenty of power for something so light. They set them up soft and forgiving compared to how you'd race them - but thats no bad thing when you are only getting a handful of laps. You'll be right at home after the gearbox karts - perhaps I should put some money on some fastest times for you

Proper F3000 cars are a whole different animal though! Take away the rev limit they ran in F3000 and they are pretty much as quick as the F1 cars from the same period.

BTW - for anyone sat on the fence - these Palmer days are absolutely second to none, I can't recommend it enough.

Funny... I always thought that was the difference between F3 and F3000... F3 being much much closer to F1 than F3000... but I've obv got the wrong end of the stick and haven't had a look at specs yet lol...

The only thing I'm a little worried about is I've put on a couple of stone since my last single seater fun times and am a little worried I might struggle to fit (I'm hoping they've accounted for this)... I'm by no means massive, but I'm possibly borderline with a ~42" waist? I plan on calling them later today to confirm.

I wouldn't mind proper race-setup... but can imagine why they want them to be a bit forgiving... I love balancing cars like this right on the limit. Plus it might be a bit more suitable for the track... haven't been to Bedford AD for a while so not sure what the surface is like.

If dry... I'd be rather dissappointed with myself if I wasn't at least close to the top in the F Jag / JP-LM.

If wet... it's all to play for. I'm a **** wet driver, might be lack of experience or just lack of skill... only ever had one test day in the kart in the wet, never in a single seater. Only wet events I've really done was in a stock mk1 mx5 hehe. Plenty of run-off though... so I won't be scared of finding the limit

pcoltrane · 11 Aug 2011 at 12:11

crinkleshoes said:
Funny... I always thought that was the difference between F3 and F3000... F3 being much much closer to F1 than F3000... but I've obv got the wrong end of the stick and haven't had a look at specs yet lol...

The only thing I'm a little worried about is I've put on a couple of stone since my last single seater fun times and am a little worried I might struggle to fit (I'm hoping they've accounted for this)... I'm by no means massive, but I'm possibly borderline with a ~42" waist? I plan on calling them later today to confirm.

I wouldn't mind proper race-setup... but can imagine why they want them to be a bit forgiving... I love balancing cars like this right on the limit. Plus it might be a bit more suitable for the track... haven't been to Bedford AD for a while so not sure what the surface is like.

If dry... I'd be rather dissappointed with myself if I wasn't at least close to the top in the F Jag / JP-LM.

If wet... it's all to play for. I'm a **** wet driver, might be lack of experience or just lack of skill... only ever had one test day in the kart in the wet, never in a single seater. Only wet events I've really done was in a stock mk1 mx5 hehe. Plenty of run-off though... so I won't be scared of finding the limit

Ah it's the other way around. F3 use 2 litre engines derived from production cars, with about 200bhp. They weigh about 550kg and have a decent amount of downforce.
F3000 cars used purpose build racing engines - eg (F1 spec Cosworth DFV) but with a 9000rpm rev limit. Power levels were 450bhp +. They also had much bigger tyres and huge amounts more aerodynamic grip than F3. F3000 used to sit where GP2 does now in the motorsports ladder.

I don't think you'll have much trouble fitting in the car. These are basically the same chassis they used for Palmer Audi and were designed to accomodate a much wider range of driver shapes and sizes than most single seaters! Best to give them a call just in case, but I remember them being pretty generous space wise.

The surface at bedford is excellent, as good as any other circuit I've raced on (or at least it was last time I went there some years ago). The softer setup actually makes them much easier to balance on the limit and much happier sliding so it'll suit you nicely

If you want to get REALLY good in the wet - best place to learn is club100 ... racing 2 strokes on slicks in the wet soon turns you into a wet weather specialist!

crinkleshoes · 11 Aug 2011 at 12:14

I got it completely the wrong way round... lol

3000 above 3 :S

Also just checked with them... limit of 18 stone and 6'4"... I should be fine then...

Ev0 · 11 Aug 2011 at 12:19

mm this tempting, maybe a nice treat with my redundancy money lol.

I've driven a formula Ford and a Formula Vauxhall Lotus, the latter was pretty good fun

My only worry would be that I'd be crap, for some reason (maybe lack of track experience) I don't think I'm great when it comes to track driving

crinkleshoes · 11 Aug 2011 at 12:23

pcoltrane said:
If you want to get REALLY good in the wet - best place to learn is club100 ... racing 2 strokes on slicks in the wet soon turns you into a wet weather specialist!

Yeah... my first experience was in the 125 shifter... it was at Rye House. In the dry in ~March I was able to get within .2s of the lap record. I later beat it in the summer, but think the cold-track time is more impressive... lol. In the wet, with slicks I lost the commitment and tyre temp... was getting owned by rotax maxes. Went back in and switched to wets, improved obviously, but was still way way off the pace of the non-gearbox karts.

crinkleshoes · 11 Aug 2011 at 12:24

Ev0 said:
mm this tempting, maybe a nice treat with my redundancy money lol.

I've driven a formula Ford and a Formula Vauxhall Lotus, the latter was pretty good fun

My only worry would be that I'd be crap, for some reason (maybe lack of track experience) I don't think I'm great when it comes to track driving

As long as you enjoy it, there's no shame in coming right at the bottom of the board

pcoltrane · 11 Aug 2011 at 12:27

crinkleshoes said:
Yeah... my first experience was in the 125 shifter... it was at Rye House. In the dry in ~March I was able to get within .2s of the lap record. I later beat it in the summer, but think the cold-track time is more impressive... lol. In the wet, with slicks I lost the commitment and tyre temp... was getting owned by rotax maxes. Went back in and switched to wets, improved obviously, but was still way way off the pace of the non-gearbox karts.

If you go back there in a kart, drop me a pm and I'll talk you through some wet lines that will knock seconds of your laptimes there

pcoltrane · 11 Aug 2011 at 12:30

Ev0 said:
My only worry would be that I'd be crap, for some reason (maybe lack of track experience) I don't think I'm great when it comes to track driving

crinkleshoes said:
As long as you enjoy it, there's no shame in coming right at the bottom of the board

Absolutely what crinkle shoes says. Also the great thing with the palmer day is that the instructors will give you tips and advice that will make you quicker anyway.

Dup · 11 Aug 2011 at 12:40

I've never done anything track wise really, I don't care if I come last. I'm not an idiot so I know I will come out of it a better driver and it'll be an absolute blast!

crinkleshoes · 11 Aug 2011 at 13:06

pcoltrane said:
Absolutely what crinkle shoes says. Also the great thing with the palmer day is that the instructors will give you tips and advice that will make you quicker anyway.

That too.

I've had a reasonable amount of single-seater-esque experience (albeit all dry)... I wouldn't have a problem going there expecting to be bottom of the pack. I'm going there to enjoy the cars... my time in the 911 and M3 will be spent going sideways having fun more than shooting for the best lap time.

The single seater + jp-lm are the cars I'll be trying to get the times out of... but that's because of the style of car. If I fail, I'll be a little dissapointed in myself, but it will by no means ruin the day

I'll be perfectly happy getting the worst times of the day in the other cars because I know I'll have had fun getting there. It doesn't need to be competitive other than for forum bragging rights

Ev0 · 11 Aug 2011 at 13:11

Just found it usualyl takes a while for me to get my confidence up.

Went karting recently and had 3 10 minute sessions I think ti was.

First 2 were average but last session I was fastest by a couple of 100ths, which on a track lapping at 28 seconds a time or so isn't bad.

richyfingers · 11 Aug 2011 at 14:00

With a bit more notice I would have done this. If anyone is interested in doing it next year I'd be interested.

Gibbo · 11 Aug 2011 at 21:00

Hi there

Right I've updated the list and emailed all those who have emailed me so far with forms to fill in and contact details for the guy at Palmersport.

If anyone has not recieved these emails let me know and anyone I've missed of the list also let me know please.

crinkleshoes · 11 Aug 2011 at 21:53

Cheers dude - will call them to confirm deposit & plan to send off paperwork tomorrow

Darryn · 12 Aug 2011 at 15:14

Phoned, paid and emailed paperwork off this morning, as for how ill do on the day, I've had a little experience in both FWD and RWD on track days, but i fully expect to be dead last.

crinkleshoes · 12 Aug 2011 at 15:43

Spoke to Greg, place booked - emailing him paperwork over the weekend