Supercar Saturday at Castle Combe Saturday 26th October

[Papalazarou]

The stroke Association are having their annual fundraiser at Castle Combe on the 26th of October.
Basically, a number of interesting vehicles are assembled to take punters out on the track for a number of laps. Usually six or more. Each passenger ride costs £20.00 upwards and the proceeds go to the charity.

We've done this for a few years now and it's a great day out. The bonus being that you get a ride in a number of cars you'd always wondered about, but perhaps would never get round to experiencing. It's also a great indulgent day talking about cars! It's worth adding, that the cars listed on the website is not usually the definitive line-up. Extra cars are often added closer to the date.

Anyway, here's the link. So far I think there are four NSX's going. Hopefully we'll see some more.


http://www.stroke.org.uk/index.php?q=supercar


Cheers,

James.

[Papalazarou]

Here's the line-up! I'm looking forward to getting a ride in the Exige V6, the GTR (want to know what all the fuss is about) and a racecar of some description. Although the R500 is tempting.


Hartge BMW M3 James Weaver
Hartge BMW M3 Kevin Bird/ Rhoddy Harvey-Bailey
Radical SR3 Noel Marsh
BMW M3 Neil Christensen
Porsche 997 GT3 RS Andy Simms
Saxo VTS Phil Pittman
ADR RS Ian Gillingham
Porsche 996 C4 Henry Gill
Radical SR3 Carl Goodwin
BMW E36 M3 Martin Houston
Porsche 997 Turbo Neil Appleyard
Lotus Exige V6 Adrian Dowden
Lotus Exige V6 Phil Ash
Westfield Megablade Graham Ash
ASBO Mark II Robin Davies
Caterham R500 Martin Philipson
TVR Chimaera Steve Gore
TVR Chimaera John Brunner
Caterham 7 Supersprint Tony Rogers
Lotus Elise 111R S/C Paul Hartley
Porsche 911 GT2 Martin Perry
Lotus Elise S/C Rob Clarke
MGB GTV8 Nigel Huntley
Ultima Spyder Chris Varey
Honda Civic Rick Rowles
Evo 6 Tommi Makkinen Lee Egan
Ford Escort MK1 Dan Gould
Ford Escort MK2 Trig Bishop
Mitsubishi Evo 4 John Yandell
Ariel Atom Martin James
Radical SR3 Steve Roberts/John Howarth
Classic Mini 16v Turbo Jim Lyons
Caterham R300 TBA
Ultima Can Am TBA
Ferrari 458 TBA
Noble M12 TBA
Aston Martin DB9 TBA
Vauxhall VX220 David Alcock
MGB V8 Roadster Ollie Neaves
Frogeye Sprite Jonathon Darby
Vauxhall VX220 David Alcock
Jaguar XKR Mark Stacey
Lamborghini Murcielago Glenn Brooks
Porsche GT3 David Edmonston
Mini Cooper 1380 Barry Thomas
Nissan GTR Adam Brooks
Dominator BEC Chris Hignell



Drift Demo Crew

Nissan 200SX Steve Ayres
Ford Prefect 100E Tom Simpson
Skyline R34 GT Ben Wild
Nissan 200SX Rich Tovey
Ford Escort MK1 Dan Gould
Ford Escort MK2 Trig Bishop

[Papalazarou]

Well what an awesome day! It was a bit damp, but most of the cars braved it onto the circuit. Once there, I modified my original choice of passenger rides. In the end I went for a Z4 driven by an ex Le Mans winner, a lotus Exige V6, an ultima and by far the scariest ride of the day; a wide arched MGB with a 4.6 V8 on throttle bodies. Never in my life have I been so completely panic stricken as I was exiting the main straight, and watching the speedo beginning it's second sweep round the clock (speedo tops out at 140)!
The fact that it was actually able to slow down for the corners and carry impressive corner speed just continued to mess with my fragile little mind.

The other notable car I got a session in was the Lotus Exige V6. I'd read a lot about these and nearly bought one last month, before getting sidetracked and buying yet another NSX (7).
Anyway, The little Lotus was very impressive; I'd driven an Evora a while back and was blown away by some aspects and left confused by others. For instance, the torque was very impressive, as was the ride quality and handling. How they get them to ride so well with 20" wheels is quite something. However, the engine was very long geared which made it feel slow to rev and the engine/exhaust note was non existent. The gear change into third was also very hit and miss.

Anyway, the Exige, from a passengers perspective was quite a car. The lack of weight compared to it's sibling 1176 kgs vs 1442 kgs of the Evora (why is the Evora so heavy?), meant it felt a lot punchier. I guess this was also due to it having the same cabin as an S2 Exige. The seats were also comfortable compared to those backbreakers they put in modern R and RS Porsches these days. The noise was also much improved, but in fairness it did have an aftermarket exhaust. But it didn't appear to drone and added to the experience.
If they weren't so expensive I think I would have tried one this time round.

Here's the link to the day on PH;

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=114&t=1338290&mid=223786&nmt=Supercar+Saturday+26th+Oct%2E+Stroke+assoc%2E+ Castle+Combe