Des takes the baton:

Okay, we'll it seems like a long time in the making, but finally it is my turn to take the wheel of the mad racing wagon!

Having watched both Mike and Al flying round the various circuits of the UK in our car, it's fair to say that I have been chomping at the bit on the get a seat in the car. In many ways, it's probably fair to say I'm the lucky one - the car has come on in leaps and bounds since we first bought it back in February, and of course I have had none of the donkey work developing it into the lean mean racing which it is today!

I have not bothered to count exactly how long it been since I last took to circuit in a race car, but somewhere in the region of five years, so I was expecting to be a little rusty. I took the liberty of studying Al’s race footage from Brands Hatch in order to get me up to speed - so as soon as I got into the car I had a good idea of where to brake, when to turn in, and where to change gear etc.

Within what seemed like seconds of arriving at the circuit, JB was hoiking down the shoulder straps on the harness, and I was off.

The first three laps were behind the course car a ducks and Drakes introduction, and boy did I need it - by the time I had done three laps, I still haven't been above 4000 revs or use more than half throttle.

The first 10 laps were just me getting used to the car - it felt great, but at the same time quite an alien place to be - I certainly haven't felt a car cornering with such g force for a while!

A quick pit stop, just to collect my thoughts, grab a bit of fuel and I was out again - I was starting to get used to the car and explore the potential - it is one quick machine!

The middle session went really without note, I was just starting to build up speed and get a feel for what the car does on the limit - it wasn't really until the third session that the fun really started.

By the third session I started to feel everything was coming back - sure, my driving still left a little bit to be desired in terms of track position and consistency, but my confidence in sliding the car round, moving it into understeer and oversteer was coming back -- mainly due to the incredibly friendly nature of car for a race car. It really is quite amusing how gently it moves into oversteer!

The one thing you really notice on a track day is the speed of properly set up most versus everybody else there - our car is like a rocket ship – F355 challenge car on slicks? Easy! 911 turbo? Get outta my way! A slight flipside is that it is also quite frightening! Pinning the throttle to the metal all the way through fourth gear and into fifth before braking hard for paddock hill bend has to be one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life so far! – awesome!
My other highlight is our car's ability to drive the whole of clearways with no lock on, just using the throttle to steer the car - not always the fastest way round the bend, but awesome fun!

I must also dedicate a paragraph to the team - Big Al and JB were fantastic! I felt like I was part of an arrive and drive team. I swanned round in my fancy overalls, did no work on the cars and just came in complain about the understeer. The boys worked tirelessly to make the whole evening a resounding success! Ta Lads!

All in all, I had a fantastic evening, our little race car is brilliant! And I can't wait for my next go at Silverstone in a couple of weeks - hopefully see some of you there!

A few key notes:
The driving position is great - thanks for the spacer Dad!

The car sucks on cold tyres!

Understeer, understeer, understeer! Turn in, mid-corner and exit!
It is possible to move the car into oversteer, using the throttle, but the native balance is towards the understeer. That said, I can't deny that the understeer gave me an awful lot of confidence through paddock hill, but a bit less would be good. I wonder if compliance in the bushes is causing the front wheel to lose camber control under heavy load???? Perhaps we can set up a video camera to investigate this?

Rear wheel spinning up: it is only really a problem if either you hit a kerb, or the car is in oversteer before you hit the throttle.

Brakes: the brake balance is very far forward, meaning you can do a crazy amount of Trail braking - this helps the turning, but of course as soon as you come off the brakes, The understeer returns.

The brakes seem to lack bite, the power is there, but whatever reason it seemed to take me a long time to build the car up to full braking potential - I think with more confidence in the brake pedal. I could break a lot later for both paddock hill, and the hairpin.

Forgiving nature: I'm not sure from losing the plot here, but I'm sure race cars shouldn't be as forgiving as our car is - we know, the car is really soft, and perhaps this is part of it, but I really remember our locost being a much edgier drive. That said, maybe i'll feel differently when there are 20 other kit cars heading for the same bit of track!