The Cryptolambo had gone to the moon... Time for Cryptolambo 2!!!
- Thread starter kindai
- Start date
No mate just taken from a discussion from another place.
Hey all!
So went to Donington today with @Gibbo and a bunch of the GTR boys for a private day. And wow, what a day.
Lets start with the conditions.
If you disrespected the track today at all it spat you out hard. The snow last night with no rain and with it staying cold and wet all day meant it was like driving on ice as all the oil and aviation fuel was just sat on the track all day. I have helpfully renamed the corners to give you an idea:
Of particular note was esses, hairpin and goddards. These were absolutely terrifying, Goddards managed to roll a mini and eat a seat.
The backend completely lost it a few times, fortunately the worst was down mcleans as I tried to trail-brake in and it just went "nope, not today". Spun me around and ended up pointing in the right direction so carried on.
Despite that, we only had those 2 red flags, and I managed to hammer out a good 50+ laps, most of which were 5-6 people out, it was so low grip people just didnt want to drive it, which was great for those maniacs who did.
Gibbo got a couple of vids of my flybys, and theres some in car footage of mine to come, including where I cooked the brake fluid off and lost all brakes. So had to engine brake to make it back into the pits, that was a scary moment when youre traveling 100+mph down the back straight, in tragic conditions and manage to lose any ability to stop.
Many more pics and vids to come, including moments like this:
So went to Donington today with @Gibbo and a bunch of the GTR boys for a private day. And wow, what a day.
Lets start with the conditions.
If you disrespected the track today at all it spat you out hard. The snow last night with no rain and with it staying cold and wet all day meant it was like driving on ice as all the oil and aviation fuel was just sat on the track all day. I have helpfully renamed the corners to give you an idea:
Of particular note was esses, hairpin and goddards. These were absolutely terrifying, Goddards managed to roll a mini and eat a seat.
The backend completely lost it a few times, fortunately the worst was down mcleans as I tried to trail-brake in and it just went "nope, not today". Spun me around and ended up pointing in the right direction so carried on.
Despite that, we only had those 2 red flags, and I managed to hammer out a good 50+ laps, most of which were 5-6 people out, it was so low grip people just didnt want to drive it, which was great for those maniacs who did.
Gibbo got a couple of vids of my flybys, and theres some in car footage of mine to come, including where I cooked the brake fluid off and lost all brakes. So had to engine brake to make it back into the pits, that was a scary moment when youre traveling 100+mph down the back straight, in tragic conditions and manage to lose any ability to stop.
Many more pics and vids to come, including moments like this:
Last edited:
Associate
Looking forward to the onboard
I did a track day there in the wet last year in my old R8 and my mates MX5 race car. Great fun was had but it's very slippy. R8 was peerless in the wet, really very clever but had to be careful with the front and under brakes is it was torrential and cold for July!
You were on the full GP which I don't like because it cooks brakes due to adding 2 hairpins. National is a superb track.
You were on the full GP which I don't like because it cooks brakes due to adding 2 hairpins. National is a superb track.
I did a track day there in the wet last year in my old R8 and my mates MX5 race car. Great fun was had but it's very slippy. R8 was peerless in the wet, really very clever but had to be careful with the front and under brakes is it was torrential and cold for July!
You were on the full GP which I don't like because it cooks brakes due to adding 2 hairpins. National is a superb track.
@Housey trust me this was nothing like a typical wet Donnington, I’ve done a lot of wet days there before but today was just absolute terrible.
If it had rained consistently today everybody would be far better off. The problem was there was no water as such on the track it was just covered in aviation fuel and very greasy. It was pretty terrifying, no car today on track had any pace at all apart from one guy in a full prep Lotus Exige race car running Dunlop racing wet tyres. Every other car was all over the place lol.
However it was epic fun!
I have an in car video but it’s not fast but I’ll post it up but the Exige was very slippy, front end was terrible, understeer and locking up so easy under braking. Slowest I’ve ever driven Donnington by some margin!
And yes GP layout I hate it because it just does not flow as well.
Pictures look good!
I thought the whole aviation fuel debacle was a myth? Surely all the grass would be dead if that were the case?
The instructors and the guys who race there don’t seem to think so and judging by yesterdays hilarious levels of grip I’d say it’s certainly no myth at all.
Recorded a few laps at the end:
Still great fun just a shame could not push the car hopefully next when will be dry or full wet conditions.
I went for a drive yesterday and the combination of damp, cold and muck made for hilariously sideways driving everywhere. Cup tyres need heat to function and dryness and I could not find either. Race tracks always seem slippier to me when the roads are like that so it doesn’t surprise me.
I remember a test session I had at Silverstone years back. It was soaking and leaving the pits I nearly spun with a throttle input that wouldn’t scare a milk float.
I remember a test session I had at Silverstone years back. It was soaking and leaving the pits I nearly spun with a throttle input that wouldn’t scare a milk float.
Yeah it was not nice mate, but I learnt the car, turned the traction totally off for last few laps as track was empty and the low speed stuff seems very manageable but the medium to high speed the Exige seems to be very aggressive it just lets go all of a sudden. The steering that is not so great on the road does really feel awesome though on the track.
Jumped in the Yaris to go IKEA and the difference just immediate grip from the first turn of the wheel.
If I start doing a lot of track days in the Exige I will look into another set of wheels with a focused wet tyre, maybe something like Rainsport 5’s etc.
Pictures look good!
I thought the whole aviation fuel debacle was a myth? Surely all the grass would be dead if that were the case?
Have done wet donnington days, this was something else. Have never driven on any track with so little grip.
A few of my favorite shots:
The one I really like is this one where it went a bit sideways
The one I really like is this one where it went a bit sideways
Jon is not your typical Lambo owner like you say they are a rare site at track days.
Soldato
Soldato
Ballsy driving in those conditions 
Ballsy driving in those conditions
People were too scared, so the track was basically empty most of the day. Honestly its a bit of a drivers dream to have a personal track even if the conditions were tragic, it just meant those of us who did go out could experiment in relative safety.
Soldato
That shot with the welcome message is spot on, one for the wall that.
Soldato
I was at Donnington today.. don't think I've driven around a track part throttle before 
luckily though it did dry up before more rain
luckily though it did dry up before more rain