MX5 Club Track Day - Wakefield Park, October 19th 2009October 19th marked my first MX5 Club track day.
Over the years, my trackdays have predominantly been conducted with
Circuit Club.
I was relishing the chance to mix it with some similar cars, and trade pace notes with some other MX5 drivers.
This was also to be my first run on the A048 semi slicks I have fitted on to my OEM wheels.
We showed up for scrutineering at 8AM, and the place was already packed. Over 80 drivers had signed up for the day!!!
Along for the rider was Andrew in his '02 Titanium NB8B. The also happens to be THE first MX5 I ever drove, and the car that really started the whole Roadster obsession for me. So it was great to finally see this car (and it's driver) out on the track - FINALLY!!!
Karl had dríven the Hilux down with my set of OEM wheels in the back, and we set about fitting them after the driver induction. This cost me my first session. And would cost more.
You see, foolishly i thought I'd throw my stock wheels on with my Mcguard lug nuts. They took about 4 goes around the car to seat them tight against the wheel, which I thought was odd, but halfway up the hill from turn 2 the steering was shaking so badly I knew I had lug nut issues. I nursed the car back to the pits to discover that half of the lugs on the front were barely finger tight. They just were not holding against the stock wheels.
What I couldn't understand is why these lugs have never been an issue with my Enkies. On closer inspection, the crown on the the McGuard (which rotates to prevent scratching of your nice wheels) is a perfect fit for the seat on the Enkies. However they do not seat right into the stock wheels holes. So you can evidently never get them tight enough against the stock wheels to hold.
I had brought my stock lugs along, but with all the lampooning around with wheels, I had mixed the stock wheel positions up and once they were on the balance was all out. SO, back to the Enkies and my road tires (this ended up being a good thing anyway!)
N00b lessons learnt thus far:
- Aftermarket McGuard lug nuts are not compatible with OEM wheels
- Mark your tires properly with chalk, less you mix them all up when it comes time to refit them!
MX5 Club run their track days as a Supersprint Style event, with groups running 6 laps each which differs from the
Circuit Club track day format I'm used. Since so many drivers had signed up for the day,while groups were running the next group was formed up on the dummy grid so they could be released as the last car left the track. Lunch was also skipped.
So, when I finally got out there, I found it a little unnerving initially to have to get stuck straight into an attack on my PB by the end of the first lap. In previous track days, I have always taken a solid lap or more to get warmed up. Getting quickly into that driving mindset was actually a really good exercise for me.
So too was sharing track time with such similar cars - you either get some really good match ups with other cars of similar pace, or just plenty of free track.
Here I am sneaking up the inside of Alan/Gobsmax out of turn 10, who is shaking his fist at being passed by a cardigan
Great timing on the shutter Andrew!
Working on my wider turn 1 entry while I chase down my arch nemesis, Mr Gavin Cross
Trainspotters will spot Re99ie catching some sun in this shot - good work on getting down, if only for moral support
By the time lunch had passed, I had managed 4 sessions, most of them with times in the low 1:15's. There was a computer setup in the tower and after each session I would race up there to see what my current PB was. 1:15:05 appeared, and after the next session, 1:15:00 !! It was a little frustrating! But by the end of the day, I had netted my current PB:
1:14:95
The improvement throughout the day was primarily down to better lines. I got some great advice from some of the more experienced drivers on the day (thanks to Ian, Chris as always, and others). The brakes were definitely stronger and you can go so deep on these new pads. But the best thing I did was just simply things some more, and get rid of some unnecessary gear changes (was going down to 2nd for the fishhook, for example).
I was just happy to finally get into the 1:14 bracket, even if it was by the skin of my number plate frame. Since I got the car I have had a 1:14:xx on street tires as a personal benchmark. While I want to get some time out on the semi-slicks, I'd like to get another set of wheels with street tires to work on my street tire times further.
Trainspotters might also notice I'm wearing the Number 16, for the "Route 16" NC Club of Japan
that sticks you firmly into Class 5 with or without R-Spec tyres. 
