Taking my MX5 out on track for the first time was a really big moment for me. It was only my second time driving on a race track (first being obtaining my racing license on the same track, Brands Hatch Indy) and this time I was in my own car so I could push it as hard as I wanted.
My focus on the day was my driving. With it being my first track day I needed to get comfortable with how the car feels. As only then would I be able to improve the setup of the car and be able to diagnose any issues with handling or performance. Since I was inexperienced on track still, I wanted to get as much time as possible so I could improve my lap times and start focusing on consistency for next time.
We hadn’t made any adjustments or weight saving to the car by this point as it was only a few days after purchase. So luckily we still had a roof on the car as it rained heavily throughout the whole day. Only letting up for the final few laps but luckily not causing any red flags.
However, it was immediately on the sighting last we realised just how little grip we had out there. We had the tyres from purchase on the car, these had a very low tread (barely an MOT pass) and mismatching patterns. This combined with the MX5’s lightweight, rear wheel drive design meant my day would be focused on keeping the car on track.
The day went great and I was able to get loads of laps in. From the start of the day I was lapping in the mid 1:30’s with traffic and sliding spending me into a few 1:40’s. By no means a fast time around this circuit, however in the conditions I felt that I was pushing the car well and approaching the edge of adhesion throughout the lap. Although I wasn’t able to make notes on the day I remember particularly struggling with carrying speed through Graham Hill and Clearways.
I was there with a friend and fellow racer Rob, who has had experience driving on track days in a superbly built Ford Escort, as well as a few Palmer Motorsports days in all sorts of vehicles. I used him as a good benchmark as I felt if I could equal or beat him I would be happy with my performance on the day.
From the beginning I was equal with him on lap times and steadily improved from there. After a few spins from Rob I was really happy I was able to keep the car pointing forward and didn’t spin myself as I know he has a good feeling for cars in the wet.
I was finally able to get consistent sub 1:30 times by the end of the day when the rain had subsided (although the track remained wet). With a best time of 1:21:8 to finish the day on my third to last lap. You can see the footage from this lap on this blog.
Fastest Lap from our First Test Day.
By the end of the day I knew there ware so many aspects of my driving I needed to improve on. However, I was really happy with my, and the cars, performance throughout the day. Keeping it (narrowly!) out of the gravel the whole day and learning how to control slides through Graham Hill and Paddock was great experience for my car control and helping me hone my skills. And as the lap times showed as soon as I became comfortable with the track, I rapidly improved my timings which excited me for what I would be able to achieve given more time. That day built up a lot of confidence in me as a driver and fuelled me so much more to commit to my racing and build myself into a faster and more complete driver. Due to the wet weather we weren’t able to gather much data on the car. Other than it slid around excessively! But we were able to at least run it through it’s paces and make sure it was all sound. I was really impressed with how well it ran and couldn’t wait to start getting it more prepared for track.
Some slides and moments from the Track Day. Showing how little grip we had in the tyres.