OULTON PARK TRIP

Strictly for tarmac whores
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robin
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Post by robin » Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:04 am

alicrozier wrote:Just remembered the hotel doesn't re-open until 1730 so no point in being there too early...


I think it'll snow.... ;)
According to the BBC snow is an option ... but not in Englandshire ;-)

Robin

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H8OAG
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Post by H8OAG » Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:08 am

Table for Ten booked for tonight in restaurant (8 for 8:30)

Paul G has picked up three groupies already!

Tomorrow

My Cheshire relatives say frost.....then dry with occasional cloud.

:liar
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Fluoxetine
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Post by Fluoxetine » Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:11 am

Cool - I'm off to mop out my Elise (Footwells swimming with water :shock: ), and check the usual things...

Hopefully one of those dragging their cars down will bring a trolley jack, as I'm hoping to change my front pads in a pit garage at OP tomorrow morning...?

See y'all later,

Ross.

:D :D :D

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alicrozier
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Post by alicrozier » Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:17 am

Change them thru the spokes...I challenge ya'. :)
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alicrozier
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Post by alicrozier » Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:17 am

IAINBOAG wrote: Paul G has picked up three groupies already!
Llamas?
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H8OAG
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Post by H8OAG » Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:44 am

Three nice young ladies from Poland on a dancing holiday in Scotland.
(Maybe that should read three Pole Dancers!) :twisted:
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tut
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Post by tut » Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:11 pm

Do they need a mobile pole to practice on?

tut

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robin
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Post by robin » Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:26 pm

tut wrote:Do they need a mobile pole to practice on?

tut
Tut,

I have heard you described as many things, but a mobile pole, that takes the biscuit. Silly old man ;-)

Robin

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robin
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Post by robin » Sat Nov 18, 2006 11:45 am

Well, we're all back.

Some mechanical woes for Paul G. but nothing terminal. The rest of the S_E fleet didn't miss a beat, so good show.

Weather was predictable. 6.30-9.30 am - dry and bright, strong wind clearing away the leaves and drying out the damp patches. Track opens at 9.30am. Rain starts at 9.31 am and gets heavier and heavier.

Track was treacherous. Reasonable grip (considering the weather) from Old Hall round to Knickerbrook.

Druids was just comedy - turn wheel at what can have been no more than 50 mph and nothing happens - you could apply anything from no lock to full lock and it made no difference. Then finally just before you run out of road the front bites and round you go (at which point you need to hope you've applied approximately correct lock, otherwise you're going backwards). Then pussy it round on neutral throttle, read the newspaper, finally reach exit and then the entrance to Lodge was similarly slippy. New feature at OP this trip was a huge hole in the road just at the turn in for Lodge. Nice.

Track dried out over lunch and was getting quicker and quicker as grip returned to Druids and Old Hall. Unfortunately Ross let Malcolm have a shot of the shed, and he liked it so much that he used up all the brakes ;-) By the time the lightening S_E pit crew had replaced them, there was just time for Ross to bed them in before the next red flag closed the circuit and with 15 minutes to go we decided to quit while we were ahead.

I did a few wet laps in Iain's Exige - lovely car - shame I didn't get the chance to take it out in the dry later on, but was busy with one thing or another - next time!

Good day, good driving standards, especially considering the conditions. Four red flags all day - two offs and two mechanical I think - neither off was massive, so a result considering how bad it could have been! Even the M6 let us off lightly with just some crawling traffic for 30 miles or so, and then reasonable traffic and dry weather all the way to Scotland :-)

Thanks to Iain for organising hotels and everyone else for providing some good company. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) our hotel didn't have a residents' bar, so we were off to bed by midnight I think.

See you,

Robin

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alicrozier
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Post by alicrozier » Sat Nov 18, 2006 3:06 pm

Good report Robin!

My only blip was that I managed to light what we reckon was the tyre pressure warning light when going through Knickerbrook (orange light with a picture of a soft tyre with an exclamation mark). Strange it doesn't illuminate at check stage on the ignition and there is just a gap there in the manual. :roll:
My car obviously doesn't have tyre pressure monitors...

Lost everyone on the M6 (middle lane was fastest as usual) but just pressed on and made it home by 9.30. :)
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r10crw
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Post by r10crw » Sat Nov 18, 2006 5:56 pm

Really jealous I didnt get to do this as the last time at oulton I had a brilliant time, and I wasnt even driving (paxed with ali the whole day). Glad you guys had a good time even if the weather wasnt great. You got a buyer for the exige yet ali?

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robin
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Post by robin » Sat Nov 18, 2006 5:57 pm

alicrozier wrote:Good report Robin!

My only blip was that I managed to light what we reckon was the tyre pressure warning light when going through Knickerbrook (orange light with a picture of a soft tyre with an exclamation mark). Strange it doesn't illuminate at check stage on the ignition and there is just a gap there in the manual. :roll:
My car obviously doesn't have tyre pressure monitors...

Lost everyone on the M6 (middle lane was fastest as usual) but just pressed on and made it home by 9.30. :)
Did you use the J19 route from the Shell or did you head up the A49 (I think Malcolm went this way). We never saw you pass (we passed you at the shell), though we did have a 12 minute pit stop, so you may have passed us then! We went outside lane the whole way - I think that people pass you, but you always catch them back up, unless they nip in and out of the outside lane of course :-)

Cheers,
Robin

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alicrozier
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Post by alicrozier » Sat Nov 18, 2006 6:32 pm

robin wrote:]

Did you use the J19 route from the Shell or did you head up the A49 (I think Malcolm went this way). We never saw you pass (we passed you at the shell), though we did have a 12 minute pit stop, so you may have passed us then! We went outside lane the whole way - I think that people pass you, but you always catch them back up, unless they nip in and out of the outside lane of course :-)
Malcolm and I went J19 but hit some 3 lane parking then I lost him in the traffic. I pushed on so may indeed have overtaken at your pitstop. I didn't stop 'till Perth. :)
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alicrozier
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Post by alicrozier » Sat Nov 18, 2006 6:39 pm

r10crw wrote:Really jealous I didnt get to do this as the last time at oulton I had a brilliant time, and I wasnt even driving (paxed with ali the whole day). Glad you guys had a good time even if the weather wasnt great. You got a buyer for the exige yet ali?
It was a great day, but mucho slippy in the morning. Interesting day with limited numbers and lots of fast stuff. :D
Probably going to keep the Exige until springtime at least. Although Jim McLaren expressed an interest... ;)
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Kelvin
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Post by Kelvin » Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:18 am

Good write up Robin.

It was great to see everyone again. Shame about Paul's car though hope you get it fixed quickly.

I had a great time. As Robin said, next to no grip that was almost comical at times in the morning and just about perfect weather in the afternoon. Despite the variable weather I still burned nearly 2 tanks of fuel so can't complain!

My journey home was easy, no delays whatsoever and walked in my front door at 7pm.

My tax is due this month so I'm sorning the car off the road for the foreseeable with the intention of replacing as many of the rusty fixings as I can, all the joints, bearings, the remainder of my old bushes, replacing the arb, new steering rack, replacing all the heat shielding round the exhaust, dampers rebuilt (although I'm not sure about this), overhaul the brake calipers and probably replace them with the Hi-Spec lightweight calipers, replace my fuel pump with an uprated one from Gaz as mine is well overdue failing, fit his lightweight fuel tank and anything else that needs doing. Given the lack of space and my rusty car I can predict that it never see's the light of day again as it ends up in bits on my garage floor. :lol:

Cheers
Kelvin.

robin wrote:Well, we're all back.


Robin

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