Fame in the land of the ether

On one of my trips to the Ring back in the summer I was interviewed by a video crew working for BMW USA. They wanted to get info on the Ring and why people come there and what do they get out of it!

They did about 20/30 minutes of an interview and we talked about the ring my cars and my passion spilled over. I was on two months gardening leave from one job before I started my new one so I was in a daft T shirt with "Dolce & Banana" on it with a large banana. I hadn't shaved for about two weeks and as I had been on and off the Ring all morning wearing my helmet - I had what my daughter calls helmet hair :-) Needless to say I was looking my best.....

Yesterday I received some emails from buddies saying the video has been posted on the BMW USA website, but it is 270Mb - Wow. I downloaded it straight away and was "gobsmacked" by how much of the interview that they had used in the video.

Today in the post I got a copy of the video on a dvd from Karen Jacobs of GSD&M www.gsdm.com the Executive Producer of the video. I have to say Karen I think you and your team have produced an excellent video which is virtually accurate in all it portrays of the Ring.

If you would like to view the video it can be got on the following link

http://www.nurburgring.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3655

but remember it is 270Mb.......so be patient when downloading :-)

I was in my Lotus Excel on that trip which Karen and her team did video but as the video was for BMW it did not appear :-( so here is a picture of it coming through Brunchen one of the fast sweeping corners of the ring. This is the biggest spectator area on the Ring and crowds gather here during the day and this is where a lot of the mistakes are made. I made one here for the first time in over five years - I came in toooooo fast and drifted over the rumble strip onto the grass got very very close to the armco but kept it under control and got back on the black stuff - a buttock clenching moment :-O

I've had my 5 minutes of fame with the BMW video so I need to get back to the Ring next year to practise what I preach - when you are driving the ring it feels like all your nerves are jangling and buzzing - you feel 100% alive. There really is no substitute and as I said in the video and I really meant it. The Ring is unique there is no other place like it in the World. But and it is a big but you need to treat it with the utmost respect or it will bite you like it did to one of the guys in the video and he got off lightly !!!!

Brands Hatch BMW day with Performance BMW

Meet up with my buddy Grant at 6am at the petrol station to head down to Brands Hatch for a day on track. Weather forecast was good and it looked like it would stay dry.

Arrived at track in plenty of time, lots of E30 M3's already there. We found an empty garage and dumped all the gear out of the cars.

Then we went to sign on and get a cup of tea and say hello to a number of friends. Track briefing was next and then the sighting laps to get to know the racing line and the circuit features for those who had never driven there before.

The weather was holding and the track was drying quickly. I decided therefore to put on my R888 Toyo's (stickys) which just give you so much more grip it is unbelievable.

Track dried out nicely and with the car, tyres and brakes warmed up it was time to do some quick laps. Came in to check the tyre presures and put some more air in the tyres. With the E30 M3 you need to check the oil and make sure it is just above the top mark as the engine can suffer from oil starvation when pressing on round some bends.

Most of the guys and girls there were from the BMW Car Club www.bmwcarclubgb.co.uk and the S14 board www.board.s14power.com and the Bavarian Board www.bavarian-board.co.uk

Some of the guys have fitted carbon fibre airboxes and Uwe had dynoed his car before and after to prove that the addition of the airbox gave 20 bhp more at the wheels!!!!! This convinced me I had to get one of these as a Xmas present - spoke to John in Munich and put my order in :-)

John tells me it will be here in 2 to 3 weeks - could be just in time for Xmas?

Only had one moment on track when at the bottom of Hill bend I went wide as I could see another car coming up my inside fast and thought I might have to take evasive action if he tried to overtake me mid corner - in the end.... I went on the painted white strip at the edge and of course it was still wet and slippy. Front and then rear wheels slipped causing a buttock clenching moment but then I had it under control and back on line. I could see John's face in his M3 behind me and I could see him thinking don't go on the grass....

Chased a new M3 CSL and after a few corners he let me through - sheer horse power is not a benefit at BH as demonstrated by me following a new M5 for a couple of laps until he let me through ( he was on road tyres).

An excellent day was had by all and only 2 stoppages for off's - one was Mark in his newly acquired E30 M3 not pretty the whole side was scraped and dented - he took it bravely :-(

Performance BMW did a photo shoot so you can see some pictures of the 50 or so BMW's that turned up for the day, it should be in their January 07 edition.

As the light was fading another E30 M3 went off Paddock backwards into the kitty litter and that was the end of the day. Time to change the wheels and tyres to the road wheels pack the cars and head home - only 2 hours round the M25/M3....yawn.........

Snetterton

Snetterton

A fellow Lotus Club member offered his place at a track day on a sunday at Snetterton for a big discount - was I interested? do bears relieve themselves in wooded areas?

I was off like a shot in the M3 - 2 and half hours drive up to the track at 6am sunday morning :-( not so good that bit). The Weather looked good and the forecast was good but because of all the rain the track was waterlogged.

The event was organised by BAT http://bookatrack.com/-pX?3142 and you can see some pics of the car on this link.

The rain came and went for most of the day so the track remained slippy and greasy all day, which meant very careful and controlled driving was the order of the day. Some people never got the hang of this and one Cosworth with a big turbo came up behind me on the pit straight so I pulled over and let him by in the proper trackday manner - indicate right, move off the racing line, lift off the throttle, when the car has passed move back on line and back on throttle. Well he got round the corner but then "nailed" his throttle and pirouetted off onto the grass......

Later on I was behind him on his tail for every corner for a couple of laps....if this is the case and the car behind you has less power then the car/driver combo behind you is the quicker car on the track. The correct procedure is to do as I did in the last paragraph, unfortunately the driver of the Cossie was having none of it and on every straight bit he floored his throttle and pulled away and every corner I caught up with him! :-( Bored with this silly game I peeled off into the pits and had a coffee and then went out when he was not on track.

Thoroughly enjoyed the day and made my way home.

Sadly the journey home was 5 and half hours in the dark and rain and not very pleasant. In addition to this when I stopped at South Mimms on the M25 for a coffee and danish a Volvo coupe when parking scrapped the rear bumper and wing - while I was sitting in it :-( he has admitted liability and I am getting quotes for the repair which I will email to him..........

Paul (the Volvo Coupe driver) has decided to put it through his insurers......so hopefully we will get it sorted before too long :-( It is looking like a £500 repair for some small scrapes a bit of broken bumper - the bulk of the cost is labour.

Paul has changed his mind about putting it through his Insurers and has transferred the money to my account - what a nice man he is :-) Now all I need to do is book it in to get it fixed! On the last Nurburgring trip I scraped the front splitter on the trailer so I will probably get that repainted at the same time....