
For over 20 years Carlton motor club has had an annual practise day at Curborough sprint course near Lichfield, Staffordshire. In the last few years there has been a contingent from the Quantum owners club and the Historic rally car register, together with friends and other local motor clubs.
It was great this year to see the vast variety of cars taking part from runabouts costing under £500 to exotica in six figures! A real variety of cars - normal road cars ; road rally spec cars ; classics ; supercars and some specials [still road legal]. And what a great day with the weather for late October.
The start of the event was delayed slightly this year by an [unrelated] incident on the A50 which delayed arrival of a number of entrants. However collection of monies, signing on and drivers briefing were all completed to start track action by 10.00 am. As in previous years the track is continually open [no formal lunch break] with the next car on as soon as the previous one had passed the red flag. This year the number of participants was about right with less queuing time compared with last year. Obviously everybody had their moneys-worth this year as we stopped running ½ hour early!
A selection of photographs are shown elsewhere [These are courtesy of and copyright of James Turner of the Quantum Owners Club ] .
He also took more pictures which can be accessed via Bostin Photography. Please take the time to look at the rest of his website and do make a donation to his nominated charity if you wish. If interested in any photos please contact him direct.Bostin Photography
I would personally like to thank Carlton's regular flag marshals [Ian , Eddie , Don & friend] as the day couldn't happen without them. Their efforts enable the day to run smoothly and was appreciated by a large number of entrants as they left.
Yet again I had opted to book for the full day aiming to get the earliest start and run continuous until close. During the day the route got altered a couple of times which went down well – it certainly tested the skills of the driver and components of the car on the first swap.
A big thank you to all who took advantage of the catering. For t
For over 20 years Carlton motor club has had an annual practise day at Curborough sprint course near Lichfield, Staffordshire. In the last few years there has been a contingent from the Quantum owners club and the Historic rally car register, together with friends and other local motor clubs.
It was great this year to see the vast variety of cars taking part from runabouts costing under £500 to exotica in six figures! A real variety of cars - normal road cars ; road rally spec cars ; classics ; supercars and some specials [still road legal]. And what a great day with the weather for late October.
The start of the event was delayed slightly this year by an [unrelated] incident on the A50 which delayed arrival of a number of entrants. However collection of monies, signing on and drivers briefing were all completed to start track action by 10.00 am. As in previous years the track is continually open [no formal lunch break] with the next car on as soon as the previous one had passed the red flag. This year the number of participants was about right with less queuing time compared with last year. Obviously everybody had their moneys-worth this year as we stopped running ½ hour early!_
hose who don't know this is booked separately to the track day. They work on getting a minimum turnover and expect the club booking them to make up the difference if not - so only by decent usage by participants can this continue.
It is likely that the 2019 event will be a similar date [after the main sprint season finishes ] so look forward to the announcement and get your entry in early.
Additional report from participant
Hi Vince,
Another great day at Curborough. - Thank you for continuing to organise.
A few words you may want to use.__
Stuart and his two sons in the Healey loved it, as did James and myself in the Mini. We both had car issues. The Mini decided it didn't like the air in it's front RHS tyre after a spirited figure of eight drive by James and attempts to re-inflate it were in vain(thanks for the loan of the compressor James Turner and Ian Jones for the loan of his car with 12 volt socket!). So a trip to the service area and eventually we had the slightly dodgy spare on (thanks also for the loan of a trolley jack). Lesson learned; make sure the offset of your spare wheel is the same as your regular wheels! We were then back out though for some more fun and more realisation that we really do need to get the suspension geometry properly set up!
This was Stuart's first time at a track day and his first opportunity to drive his Healey in anger. Both he and his two sons enjoyed the experience and having had the opportunity to sit in the passenger seat I can confirm it makes a great noise when the accelerator is pressed. It is something of a heavy beast to steer round corners though. The Healey's track time was cut short when a petrol leak was discovered from one of the Carbs. With assistance from numerous people a new float chamber gasket was fashioned from a piece of birthday card and the leak was fixed! Too late to get back on track, but the car made it safely home.
So despite a few set backs a great day with great people and great weather. So already looking forward to next year.
Regards,
Dave