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- axletramp
Just thought I'd knock together a quick summary of the track day I went to at the Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans last weekend. The Bugatti Circuit, if you didn't know, is the small inner circuit of what we know as La Sarthe (see bottom left of pic).
It was basically put together by the nicest bunch of guys you could imagine at Delta Racing for my son and myself. We thought it would be a great idea to get him somehow involved in motorsport (my son is visually and physically impaired) and as I'd had a history of track days back in the 90's we thought that might be a way forward. If it worked out well then it's something we could share together.
So my son, wife and myself set off to France in our svelte Chrysler Grand Voyager
and met up with the group of about 40 guys and gals (mainly from the Channel Islands) at the hotel just outside the Le Mans circuit. We took the entire hotel so we could be as noisy as we wanted. 
The idea was to get my son and myself into as many different cars around the Bugatti Circuit as possible and the chance for me to have a go with a few. I didn't get as many drives as I would have liked, but we both managed plenty of rides some of which I have pics and movies of here (there will be more pics once I manage to get my hand on my wife's camera).
So I'll shut up and get on with the interesting stuff now...
View from the hotel window was promising.
From ground level it got better.
Gallardo, GT3, GT2 and Carrera.
458 parked to avoid door knocks.
Part of the Japanese contingent. And yes, that is a Spoon S2000. The two Evos were on full slicks which they'd *cough* driven on from the circuit two miles away.
Very loud AC Schnitzer M3.
My Chrysler in a car park photobomb moment!
Early morning at the circuit. Setting up a Radical.
This Ferrari 612 looking immense on the straights.
A Spire for the hardcore track day fans.
This French guy was only 28 and rolled up in a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. He'd only had it a few days and it turned out to be the loudest car on the day. Managed to blag my son a ride - they ended up going out for 8 laps. 👍
First up for my son was the Nissan GT-R. This was brutal in it's delivery - not a hint of lag at any point. I was lucky enough to get a spin then drive in it. That was a dream come true.
Next up, the Gallardo. It belongs to a guy called Giles I met in Jersey and he was helpful in putting this trip together for us. I didn't get to drive this but the experience is very different. Sounds like an angry animal from the inside plus there's what can only be described as a 'bang' with every hard gear change. Smashing.
Porsche Turbo - rapid but a little sterile after the first two.
Which can't be said for the GT3. It was good to be able to compare the Turbo and GT3 back-to-back. The GT3 felt much more rapid and revved forever. Difficult to say which was quickest around the circuit, but the GT3 would definitely be my choice for pure excitement.
Didn't go in the Corvette powered Ultima, but what a noise!
It's not all go-go-go. It's also about chillin' backstage, sitting around and soaking it up. Wandering around the pit area at Le Mans with hardly anyone else around is quite an eerie experience.
🤬 yeah!
Radical after having gravel removed by a spinner. Didn't get a chance to go in one of these but my son luckily did. Big smiles after that.
If the GT-R hadn't been there, then this would have been the pick of the bunch for me. A 1972 911 which had been restored by a great guy called Jamie (had long chats with him about it), over-stroked to 2.9 (from 2.4), widened with period arches and set up for circuit time trials. Looked like a museum peace, sounded like an angry Rottweiler but showed it's age in the braking zones. Who cares, it's stunning.
Stuart, one of the event organisers, and his track special Elise. 200bhp without a turbo - fantastic! Alternator blew on the second run but was fixed in less than half an hour. That's the great thing about track days, everyone wants to help out.
Photo of the missus looking like she might actually own a 458.
A couple of videos:
Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale on the main straight. Turn. It. Up!
…and yes, that is my thumb.
Me on the main straight in an Elise 111 with the VVC head swapped as it works better on circuits without the variable timing… apparently. It felt a lot quicker than it looks. What it lost on the straights, it makes up in the turns - big time!
1972 Porsche 911. Sounds awesome - handling is 'exciting'!
Hopefully I'll get some more pics up as this is only a selection. Had a mad party that night then we all cruised back home the next day.
Just slipping on my Gran Turismo head on for a second - I noticed how tight the right hand turn at the Dunlop Curves is compared to the in-game version. It's much, much tighter and if you take too much curb on the inside you won't make the exit (compared to the game).
I'd also just like to point out one thing that really surprised me. Although I've dreamt of owning or even driving a GT-R, I had much more fun throwing a fairly tired Elise 111S through the hairpins than the Nissan. I think it's because it feels more direct and you can confidently use the Lotus closer to the limit. I'll also point out that IMHO a couple of laps in a 135bhp RR car on slicks IRL is something that no video game (to date) can come close to emulating. Sorry.
It was basically put together by the nicest bunch of guys you could imagine at Delta Racing for my son and myself. We thought it would be a great idea to get him somehow involved in motorsport (my son is visually and physically impaired) and as I'd had a history of track days back in the 90's we thought that might be a way forward. If it worked out well then it's something we could share together.
So my son, wife and myself set off to France in our svelte Chrysler Grand Voyager
and met up with the group of about 40 guys and gals (mainly from the Channel Islands) at the hotel just outside the Le Mans circuit. We took the entire hotel so we could be as noisy as we wanted. The idea was to get my son and myself into as many different cars around the Bugatti Circuit as possible and the chance for me to have a go with a few. I didn't get as many drives as I would have liked, but we both managed plenty of rides some of which I have pics and movies of here (there will be more pics once I manage to get my hand on my wife's camera).
So I'll shut up and get on with the interesting stuff now...
View from the hotel window was promising.
From ground level it got better.
Gallardo, GT3, GT2 and Carrera.
458 parked to avoid door knocks.
Part of the Japanese contingent. And yes, that is a Spoon S2000. The two Evos were on full slicks which they'd *cough* driven on from the circuit two miles away.
Very loud AC Schnitzer M3.
My Chrysler in a car park photobomb moment!
Early morning at the circuit. Setting up a Radical.
This Ferrari 612 looking immense on the straights.
A Spire for the hardcore track day fans.
This French guy was only 28 and rolled up in a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. He'd only had it a few days and it turned out to be the loudest car on the day. Managed to blag my son a ride - they ended up going out for 8 laps. 👍
First up for my son was the Nissan GT-R. This was brutal in it's delivery - not a hint of lag at any point. I was lucky enough to get a spin then drive in it. That was a dream come true.
Next up, the Gallardo. It belongs to a guy called Giles I met in Jersey and he was helpful in putting this trip together for us. I didn't get to drive this but the experience is very different. Sounds like an angry animal from the inside plus there's what can only be described as a 'bang' with every hard gear change. Smashing.
Porsche Turbo - rapid but a little sterile after the first two.
Which can't be said for the GT3. It was good to be able to compare the Turbo and GT3 back-to-back. The GT3 felt much more rapid and revved forever. Difficult to say which was quickest around the circuit, but the GT3 would definitely be my choice for pure excitement.
Didn't go in the Corvette powered Ultima, but what a noise!
It's not all go-go-go. It's also about chillin' backstage, sitting around and soaking it up. Wandering around the pit area at Le Mans with hardly anyone else around is quite an eerie experience.
🤬 yeah!
Radical after having gravel removed by a spinner. Didn't get a chance to go in one of these but my son luckily did. Big smiles after that.
If the GT-R hadn't been there, then this would have been the pick of the bunch for me. A 1972 911 which had been restored by a great guy called Jamie (had long chats with him about it), over-stroked to 2.9 (from 2.4), widened with period arches and set up for circuit time trials. Looked like a museum peace, sounded like an angry Rottweiler but showed it's age in the braking zones. Who cares, it's stunning.
Stuart, one of the event organisers, and his track special Elise. 200bhp without a turbo - fantastic! Alternator blew on the second run but was fixed in less than half an hour. That's the great thing about track days, everyone wants to help out.
Photo of the missus looking like she might actually own a 458.
A couple of videos:
Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale on the main straight. Turn. It. Up!
…and yes, that is my thumb.
Me on the main straight in an Elise 111 with the VVC head swapped as it works better on circuits without the variable timing… apparently. It felt a lot quicker than it looks. What it lost on the straights, it makes up in the turns - big time!
1972 Porsche 911. Sounds awesome - handling is 'exciting'!
Hopefully I'll get some more pics up as this is only a selection. Had a mad party that night then we all cruised back home the next day.
Just slipping on my Gran Turismo head on for a second - I noticed how tight the right hand turn at the Dunlop Curves is compared to the in-game version. It's much, much tighter and if you take too much curb on the inside you won't make the exit (compared to the game).
I'd also just like to point out one thing that really surprised me. Although I've dreamt of owning or even driving a GT-R, I had much more fun throwing a fairly tired Elise 111S through the hairpins than the Nissan. I think it's because it feels more direct and you can confidently use the Lotus closer to the limit. I'll also point out that IMHO a couple of laps in a 135bhp RR car on slicks IRL is something that no video game (to date) can come close to emulating. Sorry.
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