You asked me to comment on the Noble thread....

Agree with Mart on the Esses exit, you should be flat through Hammerdown (as the name suggests) and it's entirely possible if you don't allow the car to run too wide out of the Esses. Get a later first apex to open up the second half of the Esses more and you'll be better able to get through Old Paddock without going to the far left of the track. You should, ideally be keeping your foot in from the apex of the second half of the Esses to the braking point for Tower. I suspect your mistrust after your early spin meant you were more cautious though.

Good through Tower but again into Bobbies you seem to be turning in a bit too early. leave it late and you get a later apex on the first half, giving you a straighter (and more importantly) smoother drive through the second half of the corner and into Camp.

You're not alone in having trouble with Camp - a lot of people (me included) do. It has a bumpy entry with a slight dip which can cause a bit of understeer, combined with the pit wall being the biggest feature makes the corner is a daunting one. It's a faster corner than it looks or feels and to be honest, the only way to know how fast you can take it is through trial and (hopefully not too serious) error.

Avon Rise into Quarry is another daunting corner, you can brake after the top of Avon depending on speed and effectiveness of brakes, but that requires an extra dose of the brave pills and I'm not sure it's something I'd advise on a first outing. There are 2 lines through Quarry, and if possible I favour the one which at first looks wrong, when you crest Avon, look for the traffic lights and aim for them - this takes you down the centre of the track approaching the corner, not the classic late turn in. It's useful if you do your braking late, as it makes a much longer area to brake into and a car with good turn in like the Exige should be able to make the turn from the centre of the circuit - I'll let you know about that after Thursday

HTH

EDIT - And I agree about Combe being unsuitable for first timers. It's a fast circuit with limited run off. Mark's frustration with his drive there is because you [i]can/[i] go very quickly there, but the consequences of getting it wrong are potentially very serious, and the opportunities for doing so are numerous.

Also, I looked out my testing times for the 80bhp Locost at Combe 5 years ago - 1.27 on average

 

that blue understeer special seemed to be holding you up, no surprise. Evo had some go though!

 

Thanks for the comments Mark Will take them on board.

I think a lot of time could be shaved off with a few laps with your good self. I know I can push it harder, but need to get the lines right first then go from there. Next time!

Would like to come tomorrow but I see the forecast is rain, so may have to give it a miss. They have got 2 places available I think...

Andy, yep the STi was in the way a bit. Seems odd to me. If someone catches me up, it's obvious they are going faster than you, so just let them through! I get out the way at the soonest point I can, even if it spoils a bit of that section of track. It's like they think they are suddently going to get faster, or that it's a race.

Odd.

 

Supposed to be fine for most of the day, rain possible later.

Go on, you know you want to

 

that evo5 was awsome.it was shooting out flames on the overun.it seemed to be the fastest thing out there apart from the f430.

the guy driving the tvr convertable found a good line through that bend you lot were on about,it almost looked like he was going to run out of road after the bend.


that circuit is a bit scary.an mr2 and a 944 had a bit of a moment,the mr2 lost it but got spat out onto the infield and that was on the pit straight..

 

Weather for tomorrow:-

A dry start, perhaps with some brightness, but outbreaks of rain or drizzle will spread southeastwards during the afternoon. There will be strong southwesterly winds. Maximum temperature 14

 

Tempted....

Trouble is it will be wet in the morning from the cold / damp, and the sun takes til about 11am to wipe that out. And it's not a track I would enjoy when wet Plus I think it's sessioned for the first hour or so?

So might be

 

There'll be a dry line by 10, probably earlier if it's windy.

Don't be a poof.

 

Great day.

The weather stayed dry until 4pm, at which point pretty much everyone went home an hour early and I got the track to myself for the rest of the day.

Motorsport Events ran a very well disciplined day, low numbers on track (which did mean a little bit of a queue in the paddock, but the benefit was a relatively clear track) and a huge emphasis on safety. So much so that Ed Moore did a second lunchtime briefing as a couple of cars had minor incidents before lunch. The consequences of a major off at Combe are heavy and a lot of the people there were people who'd only done airfield events with Motorsport Events, so Ed kept the emphasis on safety.

Mark, you'd have loved it. Sorry, I know that's not what you wanted to hear

Myself? I had Ed take me out in my car and show me some new lines more suited to the Exige at Combe, trail braking really does improve lap time immensely. For those that don't know, Ed is several time Combe Formula Ford champion, as was his father - if anyone knows Combe intimately, it's Ed.

If anyone wants to try Combe, I would heartily recommend a Motorsports Events day, and get Ed in the car for a few laps

 

Bollocks (glad you had fun though)

I got told to trail brake by one of the BaT chaps.

Trust you will give your thoughts on the car??