Well, that was...... exciting.
Arrived at Colerne in plenty of time before the briefing, had a cuppa and a wander around the paddock.
Worryingly, there were loads of Caterhams, some Elises, a couple of VX220s and a handful of TVRs along with a few 911s, a couple of Caymans and a 4x4 Sapphire Cossie.
I felt a bit more comfortable when a Clio Williams appeared, followed by a MkIII Golf VR6 and a ratty MkI Golf - badged as a CL, but obviously wasn't, 'cos he came prepared with race tyres and tyre warmers.
Anyway, got things underway at 10am-ish with an instructor for the first session. He spent most of the time telling me to brake later and harder than I've ever done before. Until we cooked my brakes and had to come in to let them cool.
The rest of the morning was spent hammering the brakes until they died before coming in for them to cool.....
After lunch, I did another 3 sessions, this time taking a bit more care of my brakes. Unfortunately, this meant that my tyres took a bit more of a hammering, as I spent a lot of time on opposite lock with smoke pouring from the rears. Lovely.
Things I discovered.
A 75 TSpark is a much better track car than a Golf VR6. The owner of which came to look at what was under the bonnet as he couldn't catch me on the track.
Caterhams and Elises / VX220s carry an immense amount of corner speed, but the 75 was able to pull away through fast sweepers.
Most people in Porkers spent all afternoon holding me up 'cos I didn't have the power to get them on the straights and overtaking is banned in the braking zones and corners.
My video footage is mostly s**te, 'cos I didn't get the angle right on the camera.
I'm awaiting the pro. shots of the day, 'cos a couple of people commented on the graceful 4-wheel drift the 75 demonstrated through the last bend.
Can't wait 'till the next one - but I need to sort the brakes first.