leftfootbraking

I suppose part of these ramblings are just my way of showing that finding the right car at the right time can lead to some crazy adventures. Having spent some time looking at AE86s, Skylines etc I started looking at the Honda S2000. It was never my intention to buy a convertible, but two things stirred my interest. The first was I'd never owned a car with a 50:50 weight distribution and secondly I'd fallen in love with the amazing F20c engine, when using them in rally cars at uni. Like most people searching for the right car, I spent several long days and nights viewing cars and researching online. Eventually I found the one for me and joined S2KUK. S2KUK has a sub forum on S2Ki.com, where S2000 fans and owners worldwide share tales and tech tips. The timing of my purchase just happened to be 3 days before the sign up deadline for EuroMeet. This was a meeting of S2000 owners for its 10th anniversary in Trento, Italy, over the Easter weekend of April 2009. Having discussed it with the few Irish S2000 owners I met online, I decided I'd sign up and see what happened. Never in my life could I have imagined the craziness that I had let myself in for.

As the time for Euromeet approached the hype online was building. With over 70 cars making the trip from the UK, many had decided to make a weeklong trip through Europe. Being the only Irish car to make the trip and only being able to leave Ireland late on the Wednesday night, I was playing catch up. Having gotten the 9pm sailing from Dublin getting to Holyhead about 12:30am and due to catch the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk at 7am, things looked ok. That was until we got to Holyhead and some passengers that had gotten drunk and abandoned their vehicles delayed everyone getting off the boat by almost an hour. I finally got to the A55 just after 1:30am. Originally I was to pick up my co-pilot, Adam in southwest London at 5am, but due to the delay and having never visited his house before it was 5:20am when I got there. By the time he was out of bed, packed and ready to go it was 5:55am and we were due to check in for the boat at 6:15am. The rain was pounding down and it was a rude awakening for Adam, but we made it to Dover just as the last cars loaded. The sun broke through the clouds as we docked in France, and it was to stay that way for the entire journey.



I had made arrangements to meet up with some of the UK contingent in Ulm Germany on Thursday evening only a leisurely 800km drive away. By lunchtime and having already covered 800km with fatigue setting in it was time for Adam to take the wheel. Once he had settled into driving an unfamiliar car on the wrong side of the road I started to relax, and actually nodded off for a few minutes. My sleep was short lived as just outside Antwerp I was brought back to life by Adam shouting "F**K Tom Cops!!!" over the sound of sirens. My eyes instantly opened already pointing in the direction of the speedo, we were doing 140kmph in a 100kmph zone. "This is gonna be good" I thought as I swivelled in the passenger seat to see were the sirens were coming from. Coming up in the outside lane at a serious speed were 2 unmarked commercial Toyota Landcruisers. As they flew passed us I slumped back in the seat and the colour returned to Adams face. Needless to say there was no sleep to be had after that rude awakening. We took our driving in shifts and drove a tank of fuel each, changing drivers at each filling station and kept it that way until I dropped Adam back off in London. It was 8pm when we arrived into Ulm, rolling into the hotels underground car park the excitement grew as we spotted 8 other S2000s parked up for the night. After covering almost 1700kms since I left home I needed 2 things, dinner and a sound nights sleep.



The next morning a trip to the car before breakfast found a note attached to my windscreen, it was from Andy who was the organiser of the group we had met up with. The note was an invite to an early morning group photo shoot in the courtyard outside the hotel. As the courtyard barriers were removed the early morning silence was shattered. At the end of the ramp were 9 S2000s awakening from their over night slumbers, growling into life and settling into a cold idle that echoed through the under ground concrete cave. My spine started to tingle and my heart was pounding, "This is some way to wake up in the morning,” I thought. This was my first real experience of the intoxicating spirit of the S2000 and that unforgettable sensation would be multiplied 100 fold over the coming days. We were just finished lining up across the courtyard, as 3 more S2000s arrived. 1 was an English couple, Jonathan and Elaine and 2 were German S2000 owners, Erik and Francis. While greetings and introductions were still in progress and the laughter was growing, the cameras sprung into action.



With the size of the original group nearly doubling overnight it was decided to split into 3 groups of 4 cars and meet just short of the Austrian border. Our group was the late arrivals, consisting of Jonathan and Elaine, Erik and Francis. We happily let Erik lead the way, allowing us to retire our SatNav for a few hours and enjoy the view as the sunlit Alps crept into sight. It wasn't long before we got to our rendezvous point and I began the hunt for some Austrian road tax called a Vignette. When we returned Erik was making some calls and was consulting a map spread across the bonnet of his car. As we approached he lifted his head and looking in our direction said " What do you guys want to do?" my instant answer was " What's our options?” Erik pointed to the map replying, " We are here and we need to get here" pointing to Trento " So we can go this way, but its boring" tracing a motorway along the map with his finger " Or this way" pointing to a mountain pass.





Having spent the previous day driving on endless motorways the words "mountain pass" was all I needed to hear. Both Erik and Francis began to develop a devilish grin upon hearing my response; I knew then that I had made the right decision. Jonathan started to smile straight way upon hearing the plan. Erik pointed to a small town on the map just at the base of the Alps, "My friends are stopping for lunch here, if we pick up the pace we can join them" he said. Within minutes we were waving goodbye to the others and our little Hondas began to stretch their legs. Unlike Irish roads German country roads are flat, smooth and aren't hedge or tree lined. This makes a huge difference to visibility and confidence when travelling at speed. It also means exhaust noises travels allot further, as we found out much to my surprise. Our little convoy was quickly settling into an up-tempo rhythm and confidence and trust was growing between us. Rounding an opening left-hander on the exit of an over pass bridge, our progress came to an immediate halt.



Standing in the centre of the road brandishing a table tennis bat with the words "HALT POLIZEI" and a holstered handgun, was a plan clothes policewoman. With a quick glance at our registration plates, she called Erik and Francis to the side of the road. Not really having a clue where we were going or what was happening, Jonathan and myself had no choice but to join them. Our confusion grew as we were approached by one of her colleagues whose only words in English were "Passports Please". Having collected passports from everyone he returned to an unmarked Audi estate and picked up the police radio. One by one he opened each passport reading its details into the microphone, then placing them on the dashboard. After 20 minutes of watching 2 more officers remove the interior of an Opel Astra and placing the carpets and door panels in a pile on the roadside, the door of the Audi opened. Approaching with a smile the officer handed back our passports and walked away. I could hear Erik’s car starting and barely above idle merge back onto the roadway. I'm still not entirely sure what went on at the roadside, but I know for sure they knew about our arrival minutes before we knew about them.



A short while later and with the Alps towering above us we pulled into a small village were Erik and Francis's friends were waiting for us. Smiles and cheers greeted us as we entered the restaurant; these guys were obviously making fun of our late arrival. Their laughter increased as Erik explained about our earlier encounter with the Police. We sat at a table by the window that could easily have seated 12 people yet seemed to be the smallest in the room. The waitress passed out menus that Erik and Francis kindly, yet almost automatically translated for us. Lunch time on a Friday, surrounded by fellow petrol heads and some of the finest roads I'd ever driven, meant only one thing, steak and what a steak it was!! It had barely found its way to my stomach when we were on the road again. This time our convoy was over a dozen cars and Erik explained that if the convoy gets separated the last car of the main group waits at a junction or turn off until the delayed cars catch up. This way it never takes to long to reform the convoy.





Instantly it was obvious that this particular group of friends had spent along time driving together, their pace was fast moving in tight and equally spaced formation. Sitting at the rear of the biggest S2000 convoy I'd ever laid eyes on was some sight to behold. As we got further into the mountain passes the sound of screaming Vtecs was exhilarating!! The adrenalin was ripping through my veins with every tunnel we entered. The exhaust notes at such a volume that my chest was vibrating. Suddenly the noise stopped and we could see a border checkpoint. I had no idea of our chosen route but I knew it wouldn't be long at the rate we were going before the Swiss police would have us all in custody. Slowing to a crawl we approached the security hut, the official standing to one side just gave a nod of his head to signal we may pass. We drove through the barrier and were into an automotive danger zone. The Swiss do not tolerate any type of motoring misbehaviour let alone a loud high powered convoy of our size that was intent on it. We turned left and crossed a bridge over a river with barely a sound between us. Turing left again we drove straight through another border post and suddenly I realised we were heading back into Austria. Within seconds the air was engulfed with the sound of 13 Vtec engines changing gears at 9000rpm. It was like a tollbooth drag race only up hill and the noise made the border guard turn so fast he almost fell over. My heart rate rocketed and I noticed straight away that the groups driving style was completely different. The gaps between each car were closed to only a matter of metres, and braking was left to the very last second. Driving as fast as I could I tried to keep an eye on the taillights of Erik’s cars. We quickly found out why the group had such a sudden burst of enthusiasm.



This road was incredible!! The German guys had plotted their entire route around driving it and have driven it on several occasions. I believe it was part of an annual Alpine pilgrimage that they hold. It was what I'd always imagined Alpine passes to be like, hairpin bend followed by a straight allowing for full revs in 4th gear and back into another hairpin bend. The whole thing covered in flawless tarmac and trimmed with Armco barriers that held us back from massive drops. I honestly wasn't expecting the pace at which the entire group took off and it was only for a H2 Hummer that slowed them enough for me to catch up. But not for long, I was more prepared for the next stage and found it allot easier to follow someone than to try cold read a strange road. Sitting on the wrong side of the car for overtaking made this type of driving a team event. Adams ability to spot passing opportunities and gauge both my reaction time and the cars acceleration was undergoing constant re-calibration. Within minutes his pace notes were coming thick and fast, our trust was building to a new level and it was paying off.



One thing that surprised me about this road was how little traffic it had, I'm guessing it was about 10km long and we only passed one car. Not that I was arguing as traffic was the least of my concerns. Just as we started to find our rhythm things came to a sudden halt, we had reached the summit and the road began to level out. We came to a stop similar
to fighter jets landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Each car arriving to a standstill within half a second of last and returning to relaxed idle outside a hotel that looked like a log cabin style mansion. Along the front was a large balcony with people sitting enjoying an early evening drink in the glorious sunshine. As our group sat at the road side the balcony began to fill with tourists taking our photographs and the sound of children's laughter got louder as they pushed each other for the best vantage point. Inside my car both Adam and I were silent, it was a sensory overload. The mixture of fresh mountain air, the smell of tyres, clutches and brakes all in various levels of distress and fatigue brought on by hours of fast driving in 30+ degree heat, had us speechless.





We started to hear the front cars move off and as I gathered my thoughts it sped off passed us in the direction we had just come from. "Don't tell me he's lost" I said, as he was closely followed by the rest of the group. The spectators on the balcony cheered the departure of cars each one rubbing the rev limiter as they left. Turning in the gate of the hotel I took a deep breath as I tried to recall the exact combination of bends I'd just driven in reverse order. In Ireland our mountain roads are not really steep enough to notice the difference in a cars weight. But entering the first corner, I could feel our extra weight pushing me on. Loaded with every tool, spare part and manual I thought I would need for any emergency roadside repairs, we were easily 130kg heavier than most. The first thing to go was the brakes. The horrible realisation that pedal force was not being translated into stopping power came as we went deep into a right hand hairpin bend. Our only saviour was how fast our German friends who were 5 deep at the time cleared the corner. This allowed me to use more than my fair share of road. A minute or so later Adam announced the clutch was starting to stink, but I already knew it was starting to feel the strain. The sight of a VW transporter slowed everyone enough for my brakes to make a very welcome return. It didn't take long for the entire group to pass it and continue at its previous pace. Arriving back to the border checkpoint, we were welcomed with the glare of a china shop owner staring at a bull through his window. I think our laughter didn't help, as they knew what we had done, and the fact we knew they could do nothing about it made it twice as funny.





For the remainder of our journey to Trento our original fast moving formation resumed. The tight mountain roads over hung by boulders and edged with shear drops of several hundred meters were soon replaced by open fenceless roads as we swept through an enormous valley floor. These open roads allowed our pace to jump another 10% without fuss and it was only because I required petrol that we eventually fell away from the rest. When Francis found the nearest petrol station he pulled in and waited for us to refuel before leading the way the remaining few kilometres into Trento. S2k Italia who had organised the event along with some members of S2KUK had booked 7 hotels that surrounded lake Levico just at the base of the Italian Alps. Situated on one corner of the lake on a three-legged roundabout, these hotels would be our home for the weekend. Having been amazed by the sight of 9 S2000s in an underground car park or 13 parked outside a small village restaurant in the Alps, nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. We rounded a corner and cruised along the lakeside road towards the hotels. Getting closer we started to realise the scale of this event. 230 S2000s from 13 countries had travelled to this small lakeside resort for a magical motoring weekend. It was bumper-to-bumper, mirror-to-mirror road and footpath S2000s, every colour and combination of interior was present. We craned our necks trying to take it all in, while also trying to find our hotel. Some of the Italian S2000 owners were standing at the roundabout directing traffic and beckoned us to keep moving up the hill to a large car park.



We parked up and strolled back down towards Hotel Florida were members of S2KUK had begun to check in. The entire drive to the rear of the hotel was full of UK registered S2000s all neatly reversed up to the boundary fence. We checked in and were given our itineraries for the weekend and our official Euromeet passes. After we found our room I had a quick look around for any remaining parking spaces. Every last spot was taken, but the hotels owner noticing my problem called me over. A combination of my Italian and his English made us quickly resort to sign language. He motioned for me follow him as he led the way down by the swimming pool towards a tennis court. He opened the gate of the tennis court and pointed inside. The look of confusion on my face made him grasp an invisible steering wheel with both hands and turn it wildly, and then he quickly pointed back into the tennis court. I nodded, shook his hand and thanked him. I quickly arrived back with the car and we off loaded our bags. At this stage I noticed that everyone else was washing and polishing their cars. Having covered over 2000km since home my Grand Prix White S2000 was only a few shades off Silverstone. I looked over the fence towards Jonathan who was almost finished washing his car. It was then I noticed that the sun was well gone and it was beginning to get dark. "You can't leave it looking like that" he shouted, "Its dark, whose going to notice" I laughed, " Every person with a camera will tomorrow" he replied, I knew by the look on Adams face that I had little choice. But washing a filthy white car in the dark was going to be a disaster.







Finding a large plastic container that the hotel staff used to carry the bed linen, I filled it with water and made my way back to the car. I quickly found out that filling the container was not a wise idea. As I walked back toward the car the hotel owner’s dog sprang out of nowhere and began to bark. He quickly turned tail on hearing me scream as half the ice cold water from the container soaked me from the waist down me. I was lucky that it was now dark enough to help hide my embarrassment. Opening the boot I remembered that I had no sponge or car shampoo, just a heap of polishing clothes and wax. I poured some of the wax into the container and swirled it around, then starting at the rear began to clean the heavy dirt off. Fearing the thoughts of waking up to a car that resembles a warped bar code, we washed the entire car 4 times. Adam was following my lead, when suddenly there was a bright flash behind us. Several of the German S2000 owners, where having a great laugh at what must have appeared like 2 caged lunatics in a tennis court washing a car in complete darkness. We joked and laughed as they took photos of us and traded tales of that days adventure. I don't think they noticed that at no stage did I venture out from behind my car, until I knew that the camera was put away. I could almost see the photo caption " Irelands only Euromeet attendee wets himself with excitement!!"



By the time we had finished it was back to the room for a quick splash and dash shower before going for dinner. Campo Sportivo Comunale was the venue for all our fun and games each evening. This is were the scale of the organization efforts became obvious. Entering this really impressive centre we were greeted by the sight of dozens of tables each one ready and waiting for the invasion of hungry travellers. A small army of catering staff worked tirelessly through out the whole weekend to ensure everyone was treat to the highest of Italian hospitality. Almost 450 people were flooding through the doors with the excitement of kindergarten children and taking their seats. The centre table was reserved for our very special guest of honour and the creative genius behind the NSX and S2000 Shigeru Uehara-san and his good friend, co-pilot and translator for the weekend Kotaro Yamamoto-san. Having such Very Important Guests in attendance illustrates the strength of relationship between Honda, their R&D design teams and their customers. Needless to say that food, drink and laughter flowed in equal measures over the next few hours. But all to soon our thoughts turned to the next morning’s early start and the adventures that lay ahead. I'm not entirely sure what time we went to bed at, I remember that it was late enough to be very tired, but early enough to know that the party was only getting started.



The next morning we were brought back to the land of the living from a much-needed nights sleep by the sound of music. The irony of this was even more pronounced as we stepped out onto the balcony of our room. Looking down on the giant inflatable Tag Heuer archway that marked the start line, Adam identified the track that woke us as Andy Williams Impossible Dream. This morning was to begin with the first car leaving for the motoring adventures at 9am. We got up, dressed, and fed and arrived out to the car about 8:45am. By the time we loaded the car, Adam put his sun tan lotion on and we manoeuvred out of the tennis court and arrived out to the road, the scene was amazing. Looking left and right as I inched towards the roundabout I couldn't believe my eyes. 230 S2000s were gone, there was not a single car left. It was like a scene from a movie there was silence and I couldn't hear a single Vtec engine anywhere!! I pulled up the roundabout and asked Furio who was been marshalling the grand opening " Where is everyone?” his reply left me cold "All Gone" he said as he pointed along the lake side road "Thank you" I replied. We them had several things we needed to sort out. Firstly Adam was back on the maps and trying to program the sat nav, secondly I needed to try figure out which direction we needed to be going and see if I could even find the tail of the convoy. The only thing I knew for sure was that the first meeting point of the day was at Monte Bondone. We turned tail and quite literally headed for the hills. We swung a left at the top of the road and with Adam shouting directions we started to make our way through the village of Levico Terme. Our progress was stopped by a loud whistle as a shop owner wagged his finger at us for mistakenly driving the wrong way down a one way street, Doh!!. A few embarrassing minutes later and back on the main road with a better idea of the direction we needed to be heading, I put the foot down and started to make some time up.







Not knowing the exact route the rest had taken; I took the SS47 into Trento and on to the SS12 towards Monte Bondone. Arriving at the bottom of this famous Italian hill climb stage, I knew that we cut allot of the planned morning route out, so we were either very early or very late. Both of these were valid enough reasons for me to hit the maximum attack button, when faced with a road like this. This mesmerising ribbon of tar twists and turns its way to almost 2200 metres between several ski resorts. It was a much tighter road than any before with many first gear hairpins and second gear straights. Climbing our way towards the summit the Alpine forests gave way to snow covered ski slopes. Distracted by the sight of skiers gliding down the mountains in the distance I cut a 1st gear hairpin a bit to tight. Clipping the apex of this tight left-hander I spotted a car coming into the corner towards us. The previous few minutes of using all the road allowed me to forget that I should be driving on the right and I only remembered this as I read the words Carabinieri off the front of the oncoming Alfa Romeo only metres away from me. I was still mid-corner and only acceleration would resolve my problem and divert our collision course. It did but also created another; I passed the exit point of the corner back on the correct side of the road but with opposite lock just as the Carabinieri turned in. Both cops were staring at us as they drove through a plumb of Bridgestone’s finest tyre smoke. My heart was doing back flips as Adam laughed out "Calm down there Ted!!" My eyes were glued to my mirrors for the next few corners until I realised we weren't being pursued. I was brought back to my senses by a shower of snow and ice as it landed on the road in front of us, followed suddenly a pair of skis and a head appeared just above us. It seems we caught their attention as much as they caught mine. So they came right to the edge of a 2.5 metre wall of snow that over shadowed the road to have a look. The arrival of skiers became more common as we made our way further up the mountain, many waving and snapping photos as we went.

leftfootbraking

The total length of this hill climb stage is just 17kms and it seemed to go by in a flash and the next thing I knew I was stopped behind a line of S2000s. The joy I felt of finding everyone again quickly dissolved as my heart sank, standing at the front of the line was more Carabinieri. Convinced that his colleagues would have contacted him about my earlier escapades I crawled towards him like a lamb to the slaughter. Each car rolled by him and when it was my turn our eyes locked and I turned rigid in the seat, he placed his hand on his radio and I could feel my chest tighten. With a quick flick of his fingers he turned the radios volume down, softened his stared and smiled and stood to the side. He gave us a wave and directed us into a huge car park with the rest of the cars. We had arrived within the first few cars we parked up and began to take pictures of the other cars arriving. The car park filled up quickly and cars began to use another car park just around the corner. In the distance we could see Jonathan and Elaine coming towards us, as they got closer Adam turn and asked for the car keys. I handed them to him and he brought the car back out on to the road and followed the others to the rear car park. I walked along the roadside taking photos of all the cars and shouting "Ciao" to everyone that looked my way. I entered the rear car park to find Adam reversing into a spot beside a 2009 Swiss registered Grand Prix White S2000. I smiled to myself as I admired how well my 1999 S2000 has aged over the last decade.





Standing there with a silly grin on my face I noticed the occupants of the Swiss registered S2000, the doors opened and out stepped Uehara-san and Yamamoto-san. Uehara-san turned and looked over my car, pointed to its registration and commented something to Yamamoto-san. The moment was so surreal I couldn't even ask Yamamoto-san what he said, I was so amazed at seeing one of the first S2000s of April 1999 parked beside one of the last, March 2009 and in between them was standing the father of both. Standing there I realised something else, I was getting really hungry. So after tracking down Adam who was away taking photos we returned to the car and our reserve of food. Opening the boot we got a real surprise and a lesson in physics. Being at almost 2200 metres above sea level meant there was less dense air. To demonstrate this point the packets of crisps residing in our mobile kitchen had blown up like balloons. We laughed as we shook each packet and pretended to kick them like footballs. But hunger was more important and with a gush of air the bags were emptied and our bellies were full.



We finished our meals on wheels as the sound of engines began to fill the air. Like the start of a classic Le Mans race drivers and passengers scattered in all directions to a chorus of slamming doors. The snow-capped peak we were parked on trembled as everyone moved further towards the exit and out onto the road. The next stage was only a couple of kilometres to another large parking area beside a Ski resort. This venue gave us all a chance to use the toilets and one S2KUK member, dressed like a Nun and driving a Tiger stripped orange S2000 a chance to show that even on top of a frozen snow covered mountain that doing donuts can still create tornadoes of dust.





Back on the road and with Adam driving we were heading down the back of the mountain. This convoy was not as tight as the ones we'd been part off over the previous days, but no one wanted to be the cause of a 200+ car pile up. This was my first experience of being a passenger in my own car at high speed on twisty roads, but Adam never put a foot wrong and it wasn't long before I was giggly like a child. The road down the mountain looked like it was designed by tying a pencil to a happy dogs tail and sitting him on a map, each straight getting longer and the hair pins bends tighter as we descended. Just like our canine road engineer our excitement increased as we neared the bottom and looked back up at the sight of the long high speed Vtec powered snake, making its way towards us.







Arriving at a T-junction we turned out on to the SS 45 and towards the San Severino parking area in Trento. Fast smooth roads guided us into the city centre. San Severino parking area was filled with S2000s all forming neat orderly lines. Its hard to describe what 230 S2000s all parked together looks like, but considering Honda's Suzuka Factory was producing 15 S2000s a day the people of Trento witnessed over 2 weeks production arrive within 10 minutes. This actually led to some very funny situations as several times I witness people go to retrieve coats etc from their cars, pop the boot, removed the item close the boot take 2 steps and realise that it wasn't their car. The dreaded keys in the ignition warning alarm also had several owners continuously slamming doors until they noticed the sound was from a neighbouring S2000.





We had a couple of hours available to us to explore Trento and that we did. This historical city dates back to the turn of the first century and its historical architecture is immaculately preserved for all to enjoy. We made our way along the cobbled streets and soon arrived into a large square adjoining Trento cathedral. Finding some empty seats in one of the many cafes we decided to try some proper Italian Ice cream, while being over looked by a fountain of Neptune. The side streets from this main square were buzzing with shoppers and tourists as they went from one fashion boutique to the next. On a few occasions I spotted couples participating in Euromeet purely by their body language. The ladies pointing at the latest fashions in the boutique windows, as the men yet again used hand signals to illustrate the amount of available space in their boot. After stocking up on some fruit at a market stall we made out way back to the cars, just in time to see Furio getting interviewed by a local news channel about the weekends events.





The last stage of the day was out along the SS12 and across the SS349 to the hotels. Quite short drive compared to the others that day, but still driven at a purposeful pace, as we had another nights partying to get ready for. Saturday night was a charity auction and raffle after dinner. With the car tucked up in its tennis court for the night and sudden realisation that I was sunburnt in an extremely bad way, we got changed and made our way to the Campo Sportivo Comunale. Entering the dinning area the noise was twice the volume as the night before. New friends exchanged greetings and the stories flowed. The words of each interspersed with the imitating of revving engines and tyres screeching, quickly followed inner wrists getting slapped off each other, this being the internationally recognisable sign for opposite locking of a steering wheel. Dinner was served with the same military precision as the night before and its arrival was announced by the wave of silence sweeping the room, as hunger took priority over story telling.



The atmosphere was amazing, uniquely relaxed yet still carrying the excitement of a sunset beach party, as we moved from our tables to theatre style seating in front of the stage. The list of donated items to the auction and raffle was simply staggering everything from replacement soft-top roofs to discounts on Rotrex supercharging systems and Tarox brake kits were going under the hammer. The bidding began and items were flying off the stage and the money being collect for the chosen Euromeet charities Medecins Sans Frontieres and la Protezione Civile Nazionale (L'Aquila earthquake fund). One of the more unusual items that was donated was some Norwegian Brown Cheese, this had caused quite a stir when it had been mentioned on S2KI a few weeks previous. When it was announced on stage a cheer came from a small group just behind us. Sitting behind us was the 4 Norwegians that had brought it. This started off a great conversation between us and one of the Norwegians Robert, who spoken perfect English with a distinct Californian accent. Elaine and Jonathan were hoping to be able to win the now famous brown cheese and when they didn't Robert came to sit with us to console them. This Guy was crazy and incredible fun, as over the while he finished off 4 bottles of wine and won just as many in the raffle.





A drive in the worlds most powerful S2000 went under the hammer, something that was going to be mine regardless and a few minutes later the deal was done. While browsing over the items earlier in the night Jonathan noticed that there was a set of Tarox up rated brake discs and pads. The timing of these items arriving for auction was timed perfectly with Elaine's departure with the ladies room and she returned to find a neat stack of Tarox boxes keeping her seat warm. This led to very entertaining conversation regarding the failing state of Jonathan's brakes earlier that day. The rest of the night maintained its jovial tone and again the party raged on as we left. As we left we realised the flaw in Jonathans plan as we had to carry 4 heavy boxes of brake parts back to the hotel. This long walk also led to a plan of an early morning brake fitting session. We all retired to our rooms for the night, well all except for Robert. Who after seeing Jonathan and Elaine’s disappointment over the Brown Cheese decided to resolve the issue. He spent the next few hours searching all the hotels until he found the its new owners room and managed to swap it for several bottles of wine and a mankini. He then returned to our hotel and gave it Jonathan and Elaine sometime around daybreak.



7am brought a knocking on the door that jolted me back life after a very disturbed nights sleep. Adam not being exactly sober going to bed managed to bring the art of snoring to a championship level. I can recall several items being thrown at him to no avail during the night. Another knock on the door made me stagger across the clothes strewn floor and open the door. Jonathan was standing there bright eyed and bushy tailed, "You ready?" he laughed. "What? oh right yea" I replied remembering our plan to swap his brakes before the we went driving for the day. Throwing the nearest clothes to hand on I found my keys and left Adam to rock the hotel for another few hours. Out at the cars the beautiful Italian sunshine was warming the Alpine nicely. We parked Jonathan’s car beside mine and in less than an hour we had replaced the pads on all 4 wheels and she was ready for the day’s adventures. Sunday was a free day with regards to planned driving routes, so after a shower and some breakfast it was time to consult the maps. We decided to drive south and follow the roads counter-clockwise around Lake Garda. Jonathan took the lead allowing him to set the pace as the new brakes bedded in.



Travelling into Trento and south along the SS45 at our most relaxed pace all weekend the scenery was incredible. Stopping in a small town to use a banks ATM we could hear the unmistakeable noise of approaching S2000s. Like a scene from the film Mad Max we were surrounded by Greek registered S2000s each with a little Greek flag on its aerial. It appeared that they also thought Lake Garda was a suitable location for the days adventures. " How are the brakes?" I shouted to Jonathan over the sound of the Greeks leaving in a hurry. "Perfect" he said with a smile and with that, we took off after them. Not knowing allot about Lake Garda before we got there, the one thing that was instantly recognisable was the many tunnels through the mountains over hanging the lake. These tunnels were used in the opening scenes of the James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace", if 007 was having a tough time escaping from a pair of Alfa Romeos in his Aston Martin, he can thank his lucky stars that he didn't have to content with this particular group of crazy Greeks in Vtec powered roadsters.





The sun was blazing down as we reached the northern tip of the lake. The traffic was light and with the tops down, music up and shades on it was a moment in my life I'd like to be replay on a daily basis. One very unusual thing that I wasn't expecting was the immediate blindness that happened as my eyes struggled to adjust to the complete darkness of each tunnel. In some sections along the tunnels are only a few metres apart and at speed these blasts of sunlight meant I was entering the next tunnel blind. I was praying to hear the exhaust of the cars ahead of me as silence would have meant they were all braking, or worse stopped. But after following these guys for awhile I firmly believe they left their brakes at the hotels to save weight. The further south we travelled the more the traffic increased and coaches filled with tourists became impassable objects. With no parking to be found anywhere we continued tracking the lakeside roads until we came to the entrance of Gardaland amusement park. We pulled over on the long tree lined drive way and had ourselves a little picnic for an hour or so while watching the world go by. By the time lunch was over the minor roads were completely solid with traffic so we made our way back onto the main Auto route into Trento the A22. Nearing the town of Villa Lagarina Jonathan turned off onto the SS12, we followed for a few kilometres until he turned right onto a smaller road and stopped. We pulled along side and with a large smile on her face Elaine stated " This is the road you guys missed yesterday morning. Enjoy!!!” I quickly scanned my eyes across my fuel and temp gauges as the words "Prepare to qualify" ran through my mind. From the corner of my eye I could see Adam tiding away all loose items and double-checking his seat belt. I looked over towards Jonathan and smiled as I side stepped the clutch and threw Adam back in his seat.





This road was allot different to the ones we'd driven before. Its perfect surface tucked tightly into the cliff face as giant daggers of ice dripped melt water down upon us. A drop of several hundred metres awaited only the thickness of a stone wall away and for every half dozen open bends that you could take a straight line through, came a completely blind hairpin that cut your speed by 80%. Even I was impressed at the sound of my cars Kakimoto exhaust as it ricocheted off the tight valley walls. Up ahead in the distance I could see a tunnel. "This is going to sound epic!!!" I thought as my eyes struggled to refocus in the darkness. I threw my sunglass at Adam as the tiny white dot of day light at the other end came into view. Suddenly I saw something flash across the ground about 5 metres from the tunnels end. I lifted off the throttle just as I heard a loud cracking noise. Carrying more speed than is legally allowed in the majority of European countries I'd hit a sheet of Ice, and lifting off was not a wise decision. Exiting the tunnel on opposite lock, my eyes struggling to cope with the direct beam of sunlight warming our faces. The first thing I could focus on was the wall that was now less than a metre from my front registration plate. I looked left in the direction of travel to find Adam with his head between legs and the white line in the middle of the road gliding under his backside. I started to squeeze in throttle just as the wall turned right giving way to road again. I took a deep breath. " F**K me that was close" I remarked as Adam lifted his head. He looked at me and replied, "What was Ted?" I stared at him in amazement when I discovered that he had spent the longest 2 seconds of my life with his head between his legs looking for my sunglasses and was blissfully unaware of what had just happened. Luckily for me this was the last tunnel that we would encounter on this road.



Over the next few kilometres this unforgiving narrow section of road gradually open into more Alpine wood lands. Our new woodland route allowed for far better visibility, but noticing that we were low on fuel and that the others were not behind us anymore my driving style had turned from rally driver to more recreational driver. Cruising along the lakeside towards the hotels we could see that the area was a complete hive of activaty. Groups arriving back from all directions and new friends test driving and comparing cars. Outside our hotel the veranda was packed with happy faces attached to relaxing bodies. Returning from the bar to were Adam and several others have perched in the Sunshine, I received a tap on the shoulder. Standing behind me was Steve Mason, the creator of what was the worlds most powerful S2000. " Its time for your drive Tom, are you ready?" He said, " I was born ready!!" I laughed starting to wonder what I was in for. While we walked towards were this beast lay in wait, Steve filled me in on some of its crazy numbers. 616bhp and 420lb/ft of torque filled the bonnet of this unassuming looking Silverstone S2000. Under the bonnet things were far less subtle, everything from the specially designed turbo manifold and inter cooler set up to the differential was modified.



The owner of this monster, Phil was standing beside his pride and joy waiting to see my face upon our return. On idle and when driving at low speed carving our way through the lines of returning S2000s, everything seemed strangely normal. Glancing across at the dash I spotted that ever familiar sight the low fuel warning light, " I guess we need gas" Steve laughed. We slowly made our way to the nearest filling station letting all the fluids get up to temperature and after filling up it was game on. Steve pulled back onto the main road and once the steering was pointing straight ahead he sank the throttle to the floor. The wallop of acceleration was insane and it caught me off guard for several reasons. Firstly As Steve explained the engine management mapping meant the boost increased as you went through the gears and secondly how both car and driver had no fear of the red line on the rev counter. First gear was gone in the blink on an eye and the force that pressed you back in the seat stayed there into second, third, fourth and fifth gear. This wave of relentless power was only halted by a long tightening left hand bend. With minimal braking Steve lined us up for the corner, I knew by our road position we were going to be using all the road. I strained my neck to see if there was anything coming towards us and was quite relieved to see a clear road. We rocketed through the corner and towards the next as if being pulled by a massive magnetic force. This next bend was allot tighter than the last and Steve really had to lean on the brakes to scrub off our huge speed. The rear of a Lancia Ypsilon came into view exiting the corner and pottering along the next short straight. I braced myself for another burst of acceleration that indicated an overtaking maneuver, but as we exited the corner a line of on coming traffic signaled the end of our fun. The Ypsilon seemed intend on escorting us to the hotel car park and with the traffic growing, Steve decided to let everything cool down. The next half hour of conversation with Phil and Steve back at the hotel was an onslaught of questions about everything from build time to cam timing. A text from Adam reminded me that it was time to party and as usual I was running late.



I was still getting dressed running up the road towards Campo Sportivo Comunale. We burst through the doors to find the largest bottle of Champagne I'd ever seen, sitting in the lobby. Standing waist height it must have held 20 litres, but the sound of cutlery being called into action meant dinner was served and I never got time to find out its exact capacity. We took our seats and dinner arrived within seconds, along with something very strange. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something flying past about 3 metres off the ground, then a second later another. I looked around to see a couple of small paper planes hopping from table to table. Within minutes this number grew to easily 50 paper planes of various sizes traversing the dining room. Cheers went up every time one had directly hit someone or landed on a persons plate. The men hunted for more paper or repaired downed aircraft as the women swatted anything within range. This most random of events had every nation involved and as with all events of that weekend Uehara-san was keeping up with the best. He stood at his seat and launched his plane to a roof raising cheer it traveled a short distance before coming to rest, but Uehara-san was to busy laughing at the crowds reaction to notice. Dinner was concluded to a great version of Jarvis Cockers Disco 2000, superbly adapted by Sazzy to capture the essence of the weekend with a chorus of " let's all meet up in our S2000s".

leftfootbraking

Over the next while special awards were presented by Uehara-san to several S2000 owners for their hard work and contributions to the S2000 community. As the army of catering staff began to clear the tables away for the last time, we took our drinks to new seats centre stage. The highlight of the weekend was about to begin with Uehara-san making a speech to the assembled crowd. You could almost hear the water rippling on the lake across the road as he approached the microphone. Hundreds of people that collectively travelled hundreds of thousands of miles to attend this event waited with bated breath. Images from the weekends adventures flashed through my mind as the following words sank in one at a time.

"GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY

Thank you for inviting me to this very special event.
Today I'm so excited and pleased to be here because this is the first chance for me to actually meet and speak to S2000 owners in Europe.
I can see that you all love your S2000 very much and as the person who created the car I am really happy and feel very much honoured about that
The target for the S2000 was to realise both the dynamic performance of a 'REAL-SPORTS' and the relief of an 'OPEN CAR'.

It has its roots in S600 and S800.
38 years ago - at that time I had just started at Honda - I admired the S800 and drove one myself. The high revving engine, the secure handling, the sense of freedom of an open car, all this gave to me and my late wife great fun and pleasure.
Time has passed and for Honda's 50th annniversary we began a project to revive the 'S'. Of course, this was meant to be the new 'S', not the old 'S', but the legendary heritage was still present.

The concept of the S2000 was 'Real-Open-Sports' and we decided to refine the car under European environments. We built the 'S' and tested it on a different kind of roads in Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy and the UK under various conditions.

I even do remember to have been close to here, Trento, on early research stage during a test drive.

Now this is how the one and only S2000 was born.
This means, the place where you can drive an S2000 really like an S2000, rev the engine up to 9000 rpm and take full advantage of its potential, is Europe.
So in that respect you are all very lucky.

This year it is the 10th anniversary of the S2000 and it will also be its final year of production. In those ten years, 110,000 customers around the world bought an S2000 and have shown their appreciation for 'Real-Open-Sports'.
For these people man and machine become unified and with the high revving engine, the accurate shifting they take the challenge of winding roads with the freedom of an open roof.

Please take good care of your S2000, keep it by your side for long and enjoy it from the bottom of your heart. And share the quality and legacy of the S2000 with many friends so that the legend of the S2000 will continue for long
Today, I sincerely want to thank all of you to have gone all the way with your S2000

Ladies and gentleman thank you very much!"


It goes without saying that there wasn't a dry eye in the house as everyone took to their feet with a rapturous applause. I can only imagine how hard it is to design the worlds finest sports cars, but to be able to capture the hearts and emotions of everyone with an honestly written speech makes this man truly exceptional and moments like this one of the most special of my life. The remainder of the evening can only be described as a party befitting the occasion, with celebrations continuing on into the small hours. Even when we decided to head to bed, our exit took over an hour as we said our goodbyes to our new friends.

leftfootbraking

The next morning was an extremely slow start and barely awake we made our way into our hotels restaurant on the hunt for breakfast. while we tucked into the best breakfast I'd eaten in a week, others started to float in. Having not really decided our route home or time scale we were debating our options, when Brian and Phil from the Isle of Mann invited us to join them at the Nurburgring. The mention of this gave Adam a smile a Ronald Macdonald would be proud of. So our decision was made and we were heading for the Ring.



We began to load the car as Richard from TTS performance stopped by to continue a chat from the night before. Richard supplies and installs Rotrex Superchargers, and his steed for the weekend was over 330bhp. Standing their chatting away in the glorious sunshine Richard uttered the magic words "Would you like to drive it". I looked over to Adam, handed him some money and the keys to my car and gave him directions to the petrol station, as I shut the door giggling like a child. Once out on the main road and with all the fluids warmed up, I started to squeeze in some throttle. The hugely increased torque was instantly noticeable, but yet incredibly controllable. I suppose the best way to describe it was at 2000rpm in 4th gear, this S2000 had the same rate of acceleration as my standard S2000 has at 7000rpm in 2nd gear. Unlike Phil's turbo monster this supercharged S2000 was unbelievably civilised. For a bolt on kit the results really impressed me and over the next 10km or so, it found its way firmly onto my Lotto wish list. Arriving back to the hotel I noticed that my car was still missing, but figuring that Adam was still getting fuel I thought nothing of it. As I stood there peering under the bonnet at Richards creation we could hear the sound of an S2000 at full tilt along the road above the hotels. We both laughed at the idea of someone taking the opportunity of a last minute mountain run, as my car turned the corner with Adam laughing as the sweat ran off his brow. He managed to find an 11km detour from the filling station 1km away.





By midday with everything loaded and our final farewells made, we rolled up behind Brian and headed towards the Nurburging. Having not driven with Brian before I wasn't sure what his pace would be like, but before long I found out. He has one position for the throttle pedal and thats flat on the floor. Within an hour we were into Austria and half an hour after that we were into Germany and onto Autobahns. The Autobahns allowed us to really stretch our legs and make some great headway. We made 2 stops for fuel and we pulled into Adenau just after dinner time. Being Monday evening after a bank holiday this little village was a quite place, but after a quick search we found our beds for the night. The appropriately named Hotel An Der Nordschleife gave us a great deal on 2 of their newly build apartments for the night. Having only read about this magical place I was in for a major surprise at what we found the next morning. As the Sun broke through the curtains and filled our room we could hear the screeching of tyres echoing as a dark coloured flash passed through Adenau bridge. This sound jolted us to life and propelled us towards the windows, but like most of these things once you've heard to your to late to see it.







After breakfast we made our way along the winding Eifel mountains roads to the Nordschleife's entrance. Turning on to the main road that runs parallel with the main straight, not one but three Nissan R35 GTR Spec V's passed us. We later found out that this was a shake down for Nissans attempt to break Porsches Ring record, which they managed to do 3 weeks later. We arrived to an empty car park and discovered that the Nordschleife was not open to the public until 1pm. After purchasing a Ring card for 2 laps we made our way to the Devils Diner to grab a coffee and kill some time. Sitting by the window over looking the car park we could see more cars arriving as 1pm approached. When the barriers were finally opened the car park had a grand total of 35 cars in it, this was a long way off the stories I'd heard of hundred of cars on track at the same time. I checked the oil level and tyre pressures for the last time and made our way to the barriers. Not having a clue what we were doing it was all very much a guessing game. This completely empty track seems miles wide when there's not another car to be seen. Over our entire lap we encountered 2 cars, one an Audi R8 that appeared to have a problem as was only doing 50kmph and the other a fully caged Mini Cooper S.





I'd imagine that my lap of the Nordschleife could be titled the most mundane in the tracks history, even though I felt I was pushing hard in places. Parking up beside Brians car, we noticed that he was chatting to another guy from the UK. Will introduced himself and asked how I got on, "The Satnav wasn't much use" I replied. "Did you use the dots?" he enquired and began to laugh at my reply "What dots?". "I'll show you" he said as he walked towards his BMW E46 M3, in a flash I was sitting in the passenger seat with the belt securely tightened. I asked Will about his BMW as we entered the circuit, quizing him on its uprated brake set up. " I only brought this because I had everything booked when I found out the GT3 wouldn't be serviced in time" he stated casually stated as we passed under the bridge. As that sentence sank in Will began pointing out the basketball sized white painted dots on the entrance and apex of each corner. Being honest I wasn't really listening as at these much higher speeds this track was 100% difference to what I'd just driven . Returning to the car park I asked Will would he mind bringing Adam out with him next time and 10 minutes later Adam was smiling broadly as he entered the track.







By the time they returned Adam had convinced Will to be his co-pilot for his first lap of the Ring. After I watched my own car drive off into the Green Hell, I took the chance to have a look into several of the latest Porsches that had arrived. The relaxed attitude of everyone amazed me and after a short while I heard a familiar sound rumbling down the main straight. The look on Adams face said it all and Will was the same colour as when he left so everyone was happy. While Adam thanked Will, Brian and Phil arrived back and parked beside us. It was now 2:30pm and lunch was on the agenda, so we made our way to the Devils Diner and tracked down another fine steak. As with all conversations petrol orientated we lost track of time and suddenly realised that it was 3:30 and our boat set sail in Dunkirk at 7pm.



We topped up the tank and hit the road with a bad case of ferry fever. We pulled into the port at Dunkirk well in time for our sailing to find out that all crossings had been cancelled due to French fishermen having a strike and blocking all ports. After several minutes discussion with the check in staff we decided to head for the Euro Tunnel and try keep on time. We left Dunkirk and while I made haste towards Calais to stay ahead of all the other ferry passengers, Adam rang anyone we knew that was heading our way and informed them of the cancelled ferries. This was going to be my first time on a train in perhaps 20 years and to bring my car onto it was the best of both worlds. After waiting for 2 hours for the next available departure, it took several long minutes for the anyone to realise that there was no way my S2000 would make it up the very steep ramps onto the upper level. Once parked on the lower deck it was time to relax and not sure what to expect I was surprised at how boring the journey was.





We emerged into the UK to find exactly the same weather as when we left. The roads were flooding and it took a little while to get used to being on the right side of the road again. I dropped Adam back home just after midnight and when pushed on towards Holyhead. After several fuel and coffee stops en-route I managed to squeeze onto an earlier sailing and I arrived into Dublin port just after 9am. Homeward bound stuck in the cities traffic jams, I began thinking about the previous 7 days and the months leading up to it. I'd never imagined that something like purchasing a car, a decision normally based on practicalities like MPG, boot space and resale values could have completely changed my life. The decision I made to purchase my S2000 was based on my interest in its design, little did I know that 6 months later I would be driving 4872km across Europe on a blind adventure that resulted in meeting its creator and some of the most crazy and greatest friends anyone could ask for.




The memories from all this are unmeasurable and for that I've allot of people to thank.

Andy and the German way down group, who allowed us to join their group as late arrivals. Sir you are a gent

Erik, Francis and all the German S2000 owners who both translated for us and educated me with their baptism of fire driving styles. I'm still learning and I will be back

Jonathan and Elaine, Brian and Phil and everyone from every country that attended, it was a massive pleasure!!

Adam for putting up with 5000km of "Mind my car" you've some patience mate!!

Shigeru Uehara-san and Kotaro Yamamoto-san and all at Honda, thank you for the landslide of changes and adventures this little car has brought into my life!!!

Special thank you to LTB, AquilaEagle and Sazzy from S2KUK who along with Furio, Beppe and Simone from S2kItalia brought this whole amazing event to life. I'm not sure any of the attendees really can understand the months of hard work that went into this event. So thank you guys so so so much!!!!!!

mex1cola

Great read on a slow Monday morning! Great job Tom, thanks for that!

RevRanger

Now that is what you call a write up

Would love to do it all again for the 15th year anniversary but I know how much work went in and I doubt anybody can manage that all over again plus Lee is now in a Lotus

AquilaEagle

What an EPIC story, Tom Fantastic memories

feck_on_a_stick

Wow! A fantastic read. That's some effort Tom.

Has taken me the guts of 2 hours inbetween quiet spells at work, but well worth it.

This has to be the worst tennis court I've ever seen!! haha

andy2000

Was it really 2 years ago. Fanastic write up Tom,. some really good memories to brighten up my Monday morning.

poizun

Awesome post. I enjoyed your writing style and could sense the emotion during the speech.

What a great start to a Monday.