Our Gallery
IWE - Devon Group members at Blyton Park
Track days…. John & Tristan Blake with an abused TR4... Blyton Park was an excellent track which was enjoyed by both Tris and myself, the weather was pretty good for us with just a little light rain in the early afternoon which gave rise to the first spin we’ve had on track. It was Tris behind the wheel at the time and the combination of damp track limited slip diff and an over enthusiastic right foot just leaving the second chicane caused a rather graceful twirling motion ending up facing the wrong way, still, no harm done and more lessons learnt. The drivers briefing before the event had included the advice ‘you spin – you’re in’ the reason being that a spin of that kind can shake you up and if you continue on track you are likely to make further mistakes, so we came off the track got out & walked around the car to make sure everything was okay and settle the nerves then straight back on to finish the session without further event. The track dried up quickly during the afternoon and we put in as much track time as possible with Tris completing some really good laps to make up for his earlier mishap. Blyton was a particularly demanding circuit for the poor old brakes & suspension with really fast sections and then very tight bends, it was quite apparent that the front suspension and anti-roll bar are not up to those kind of forces. It was also interesting to see how hot the front brakes got on all the cars although I think mine probably won in that department with smoke billowing out from under the front wings at one point it looked like she was on fire. So my never ending list of improvements now includes uprating the front suspension and brakes in time for the next event. And having mentioned the next event it’s worth reminding everyone it’s only a couple of months away. The details haven’t been published on the main TR website yet but I’m assured the intention is to book Castle Combe again for Wednesday 5th October so get it in the diary and come and watch us or better still have a go, it’s a safe environment and you push yourself and the car as much as you are comfortable with. The groups are set from complete novices up to the very experienced. This time I have convinced Kay to have a go as well and that’s got to be worth watching! John B