GT3RS pursued by a Vanquish
Until earlier this month, I was a track day virgin. Whilst I’d driven my cars around some circuits, including Le Mans on the day of the 24-hours race, I’d never really considered a track day. That was partly because I have no racing driver ambitions and certainly not the budget that goes with the hobby... at least where Aston Martins are concerned!
All that changed when Richard Furse booked a day at Trac Mon, Anglesey to host the inaugural AstonOwners.com Track Day. And what a day it was.
Trac Mon is a beautiful location on the west coast of the island, overlooking the Llŷn Peninsular on the mainland. It was conceived by ARDS founder member, Richard Peacock, and opened in 1997. It was upgraded in 2007 and now boasts a 2.1-miles, 20-meters wide surface with excellent pits and control buildings, hosting all sorts of 2-wheeled and 4-wheeled motorsports and testing.
Trac Mon is beautiful, especially when the sun pops out!
The invitation said: “Bring along something interesting and a helmet.” Being a motorcyclist enabled me to tick the latter box, and the DB6 was crying out for a decent run. Somerset to North Wales and back ticked the other box.
Making a ‘weekend’ of it (actually, Wednesday to Friday) meant that we would be driving there and back in lovely dry autumn weather. However, Storm Benjamin was also planning to be at our Thursday track day. I wondered if that might put some people off.
We set off on Thursday morning from our overnight stay, in a small and very quickly separated convoy: Alpine 110, Porsche 911 (930), Lotus Elan, Mini Cooper S and others. It was cold, damp, slippery and, for all bar the modern Alpine, steamed up! I was driving the Porsche with the phrase ‘Whale Tail Widow Maker’ rattling around my head (albeit, this was a non-turbo version).
We all arrived at the circuit around 09:30 for a very welcome coffee to accompany our driver briefing. It was also the beginning of the rain and the wind. Neither let up until it was home time, by when we could just make out the horizon through the rain lashed windows. More of that later.
Rain? What rain?
Our host for the day was circuit owner, Sir George Meyrick. He was ably supported throughout the day by his very warm, friendly and expert team. George welcomed us all and asked that we introduce ourselves – including some pre-17 aged youngsters – before instructor, Stewart, took over to explain the circuit layout, protocols, marshalling, flags, etc.
Sir George (seated) was our terrific host
We then followed Stewart’s course car to learn the route. Leaving the pitlane on a sweeping left hander followed by a less sweeping right onto the (bent) straight. Accelerating right, up the hill then a tight left/right at the crest before the first of two straight straights with a 180 degrees right-hander separating them. The next left was challenging, tight and off-camber with a short straight before the medium left onto the start/finish straight.
It was then time to choose a car and have some fun.
The variety of car types and ages, along with the dreadful weather, ruled out any subconscious thoughts of racing. The sideways rain, slightly flooded sections and paucity of windscreen wiping function on some of the cars dictated more of a self-preservation frame of mind.
But boy was it fun!
I swapped the Porsche for Steve Richards’ Alpine. What a car. In sport mode, its response to braking and acceleration, with terrific popping and banging soundtrack, was epic.
The Alpine A110, epic!
It was then my turn in a 1969 Lotus Elan that’s been tweaked for the track. More (real) popping and banging, but this time accompanied by wind noise from the very draughty roof. What fun.
Lively little Elan
My first ever drive of a Mini (yes, really) was next up. My passenger for this trip was 9-years old Annabel who, provided we shouted loud enough, could just make out what we were saying to each other. She loved the indicator lamp that blinked from the end of the stalk. I used it quite a lot to keep out of the way of a 911 GT3RS and one of the two Vanquishes circulating at the same time. I invited my guest to guess the car’s age. She thought it was 80. It’s often regarded as ahead of its time, but perhaps not by that much!
A scrumptious lunch spread was enjoyed by all, especially the marshalls who received a well-deserved round of applause when they came in for theirs. Not only were they looking out for us at intervals around the track, but also watching over the youngsters who were given driving experiences based on their size and skill level. Encouraging the next generation of petrolheads was a particularly laudable aspect of the day.
After lunch, I took out Richard’s Vanquish, a car I’m very familiar with, having driven it over a thousand miles during last winter. It was very impressive on the track, inspiring confidence under braking and always sounding awesome.
The Vanquishes were impressive
My final excursion was sitting beside instructor, Stewart, who, during a short red flag break, talked me through the principles of circuit driving. He talked about overall smoothness and how corners are usually set up two in advance to avoid mid-corner steering adjustments. A few fast laps, in slightly improved conditions (meaning I could sometimes see the sea) confirmed that all but one of my lines were correct (the immediate right after the sharp left-hander needed rethinking). I mention this, not as a boast, but rather that my correct instincts were based on motorcycling experience, where applying the power too soon doesn’t result in a spin off nor a quick recovery!
In chatting with others afterwards, we all agreed that the conditions made the day better in some ways. Learning to handle a car, especially a powerful one, at speed on a wet surface, is immensely helpful in terms of our road driving competence. Knowing that the car can cope and, in some cases, exceeding the grip available, shows just how far you can tempt fate. Applying that learning, and factoring in oncoming traffic, road paint, manhole covers and wet leaves, etc. means there should always be a margin for error if ever emergency action is required.
The Vanquish owners also learned how their cars responded to different tyres (Michelin v Yokohama). Another useful fact and an unexpected benefit of the day.
There was also the perhaps inevitable debate about “which car was the best”?
