Mr Sprint,
I am a bit taken aback by your post, and I am not entirely sure where you are coming from with this. I know exactly what trackdays are all about - driver development. I have spent a considerable amount on my car, and a considerable amount on driver education, to the point that I normally bring an instructor for a whole day with me - which is a reflection of how seriously I take my personal driving development.
Any comments about my car's performance have been to demonstrate it's capabilities, not my own. In case you missed it, I have been undertaking a project to build a track oriented EVO, which I don't think anyone has embarked on before in quite the same way. It is a real labour of love as far as I am concerned, and because the enormous hours I have to work, constitutes the only real pleasure I have time for.
You're absolutely right - there is no prize for being the fastest, but there is a personal achievement for me in improving my track craft, improving my car and learning the various UK circuits. I am frank and honest when I tell people about it - when I first started doing this last year, I wasn't exactly sure what the racing line was, and my driving was, well, crap! As I have improved, and the car has improved, I would consider my driving to be reasonably good now. However, it is the car that is the real star, not me, and I believe that many people on this forum are geniuinely interested in the saga concerning my car.
I have only reported on two track days as far as I am aware on this forum - both in the last 3 weeks. Bruntingthorpe, and Croft, both of which are the two first occasions I have used the car since the engine work was done - obviously this is exciting for me, and those who have worked on the car with me, and it is that enthusiasm and excitement I have relayed, not boasting. Both days have been major shake down days for the car.
There are plenty of people on this forum with less tuned EVO's that are probably quicker than I am through better driving skill - I make no claims about being the best driver in the world - far from it. I am simply a student, with lots to learn, and track days are about exactly that for me - education. I have also learnt alot about what does and doesn't work on the car on the track, and like to relay that to other members purely to help them in their purchasing decisions.
BTW, several of the days have been open pit -and I am intellegent enough to recognise a car on a cool down lap
Alot of the information I relayed was about relative lap times or performance to other cars and cornering g as measured by the AP-22, which is of general interest in my opinion. As you know, there are very few opportunities to overtake on a track day, particularly a poorly attended one (Croft) or a large airfield (Bruntingthorpe). I spent half the day at Bruntingthorpe being overtaken by everyone (running-in) and half the day at Croft being towed off the track (car breaking down!) Both days for me were experimental, and a chance to test out the car. I had been off the track (and work) for 3 months due to a serious head injury (which unfortunately happend on my honeymoon!). This will more than likely prevent me from doing serious competition (if my driving ever gets to be good enough for that), but I thought at the time that I would never do a track day again - which was very upsetting, especially as I had spent so much effort in learning, and in tuning the car.
The trackdays I attend are all very friendly affairs, with good people. Non are competitive (although you can't deny people have a go). Equally, if I am travelling faster than other cars, surely you expect me to overtake them, don't you? How do you measure your own skill as a driver if it is not by comparison to others? How do you measure your car's capabilities other than by measurement and comparison? I always use my friends on the track as a measure of my own performance, and have usually been trounced by them as they are much better drivers than I, although I have been working hard to change that! This usually takes the form of spotting each other on laps to work out relative lap times - nothing more sinister or competitive than that.
As for competition, I am very interested in Sprints and Hillclimbs, and hope one day to these. As I said before, I doubt I will ever be able to race, though I do hope to take my ARDS test next year.
I know you attend track days - I am fairly sure you where at Goodwood in March with Easytrack (white RS, very quick as I recall). If that was you, you spoke to me (and I recall you were a nice chap). I had a VERY bad day as my brakes died on the first lap, and if you recall, my driving was shite (only 2nd track day). It was after that day that I started investing in improving the car and my driving skills.
You are also on the same Bookatrack day as I am at Donnington on 19/11 - so you can judge for yourself. I think you will find that you have misinterpreted my posts.
I use track days purely as a way of buying track time - as I said before, I bring my own instructor with me for the full day to teach me the lines and how to drive better. Power Engineering often spend the day with me often working on things with the car. That doesn't leave time for the alleged showboating that you are accusing me of.
I suggest you talk to Jonny at Bookatrack or Ed Moore at Motorsport Events - both will tell you that you have got the wrong end of the stick. Or Yorkie, Shorty, or Droid - all members of this forum who have been on track with me (and in Yorkies case in the car). Yorkie drove far better than I did at Croft (he knew it reasonably well) and I struggled to keep up with him (in his standard EVO) early on as my lines were hopeless until I went out with the local croft guy (which transformed the day). Shorty easily kept up with me back in April.
I think this posting IS very personal - and you would have been much better served by privately asking some relevant questions before launching a personal attack. I am certainly not interested in hero worship as you like to put it, or I would appear with my car in Max Power! Your curiousity would have been answered with an email, but this can only really be interpreted by me as a sad case of attack the guy who spent loads on his car - and to do it publicly. It's a different form of jealousy, but jealousy none the less.
The world is full of prejudiced people, and you appear to be one of them. I don't need to justify to you, or anyone else the amounts I spend on the car - it isn't about the money, it is about the end result. With hindsight, I probably would have spent half the amount (less mistakes). My loss is other people's gain. This isn't the first time I have tried to create a personalised, unique car, but it is the first time I have had the opportunity of sharing the experience with, what I believe are, like minded people who have a passion for EVOs, a passion for tuning and driving fast.
So in summary - not sure exactly what your problem is. I am fairly sure that this type of personally attacking posting is not in the spirit of this forum. It is a shame, as I was looking forward to a fellow EVO owner being at Donny on 19th - as previous encounters have been good humoured and good fun (thanks Yorkie, Croft was a hoot).
Probably best to make sure your in a different group to me - wouldn't want you to accuse me of making you a victim, though I guess you would enjoy humiliating me on the track ....
One final point - if I was the hooligan that you seem to make out, then the likes of Bookatrack and Motorsport Events would not put up with that behaviour at all, and it would be black flags all round. I have experienced real hooligans, who are just unsafe. I have never spun, nor caused anyone else a problem on the track. I have never had an off . I only overtake on consent. I am safe, and careful on the track, and so is my car.
I have also demonstrated very good self control in not telling you where to go, in the vain hope that you may actually have got the wrong end of the stick.
Retort over.
