I’ve been sent a discount code for the Evo track days, I might grab a refund and do Bedford and Donington instead.
Car Limits (aka Walshy days)
Re: Car Limits (aka Walshy days)
Just came back this morning to say it’s already booked, presumably other cancelled dates grabbed the same day.
I’ve been sent a discount code for the Evo track days, I might grab a refund and do Bedford and Donington instead.
I’ve been sent a discount code for the Evo track days, I might grab a refund and do Bedford and Donington instead.
Re: Car Limits (aka Walshy days)
Ah, that's a shame. Surely they should have warned that it was going to be offered more widely before doing it.
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Rich B
- Posts: 12129
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:22 pm
- Currently Driving: T6.1 VW Transporter combi
S1 Lotus Elise
Re: Car Limits (aka Walshy days)
We did our Thruxton AW day yesterday and it was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I had a lot of fun, but the Thruxton location was clearly an issue (not Andy’s fault - he was great as always!)
We were told early on that because there was a track day, we wouldn’t have the paddock set up, so would be in the skid pan area all day. This would probably have been ok (not great though) except the water jets packed up half way through the day and took ages to get going. Then eventually the day was cut a bit short when we ran out of water.
The skid pan stuff was good fun, but not going over 20-30mph for the whole day didn’t really have the thrill of the previous days and i don’t really think i learnt anything awful lot about the limits of my car or much that translates to normal driving. The high speed cornering and handling tracks from previous days at North Weald were far more enlightening.
Overall, great to see Duncs and his car again, but i definitely wouldn’t do another AW day that involved the skid pan.
We were told early on that because there was a track day, we wouldn’t have the paddock set up, so would be in the skid pan area all day. This would probably have been ok (not great though) except the water jets packed up half way through the day and took ages to get going. Then eventually the day was cut a bit short when we ran out of water.
The skid pan stuff was good fun, but not going over 20-30mph for the whole day didn’t really have the thrill of the previous days and i don’t really think i learnt anything awful lot about the limits of my car or much that translates to normal driving. The high speed cornering and handling tracks from previous days at North Weald were far more enlightening.
Overall, great to see Duncs and his car again, but i definitely wouldn’t do another AW day that involved the skid pan.
Re: Car Limits (aka Walshy days)
Likewise great to see you too, I love the stance your car has. Sorry I didn't get any photos, hopefully we get some good vids from Andy's glasses!
My day started well, left super early which made it a nice drive down (also not too hot at that time). Did mean I had to sit in a Starbucks and read for a while, but I had a coffee and a snack and it had an ok outdoor area. So it was a pretty relaxed start.
I did quite enjoy the skid pan for a while, and I found that I was really getting a lot better the longer it went on. Also playing with trail braking in that slow controlled environment really gave enough time to bend my head around the behaviour which I think would have taken longer to understand if the speeds were bigger.
In the end though, the idea of not being about to really let the car loose felt like a real missed opportunity and as you say, the skid pan isn't that useful in isolation. It's crazy to me that it seems like this agreement in terms of the use of the asphalt apron on the infield wouldn't be completely cast iron, it's not really possible for Andy to run his business with that uncertainty. The water issues were not great (amazing they haven't installed a proper backup to the mains), but the temperatures are certainly not common so you could give a bit of leeway on that. If we'd had the circuit available it would have been no big deal at all.
The worst bit of the day was the drive home though. Going on for 3hrs in the baking hot sun (the sill by my right arm was too hot to touch), sweating buckets, water bottle like bath water, phone packed up because it said it was too hot, stop start traffic all the way up the M25 and M1. I think I sweated a load of suncream into my eyes so my lenses were playing up and a bit blurry by the end. I felt beaten up by the time I got home! I certainly wouldn't do it at Thruxton again (unless I had a hotel or something and went home the next morning!)
Definitely not a patch on North Weald. Didn't someone say the other one isn't great for run off? I hope he's still looking for new venues, I really do think it's a great thing to do at least once a year, you can just do trackdays I suppose but it never feels like quite as much of a safe environment to get so far past the limit as you would on an AW day.
My day started well, left super early which made it a nice drive down (also not too hot at that time). Did mean I had to sit in a Starbucks and read for a while, but I had a coffee and a snack and it had an ok outdoor area. So it was a pretty relaxed start.
I did quite enjoy the skid pan for a while, and I found that I was really getting a lot better the longer it went on. Also playing with trail braking in that slow controlled environment really gave enough time to bend my head around the behaviour which I think would have taken longer to understand if the speeds were bigger.
In the end though, the idea of not being about to really let the car loose felt like a real missed opportunity and as you say, the skid pan isn't that useful in isolation. It's crazy to me that it seems like this agreement in terms of the use of the asphalt apron on the infield wouldn't be completely cast iron, it's not really possible for Andy to run his business with that uncertainty. The water issues were not great (amazing they haven't installed a proper backup to the mains), but the temperatures are certainly not common so you could give a bit of leeway on that. If we'd had the circuit available it would have been no big deal at all.
The worst bit of the day was the drive home though. Going on for 3hrs in the baking hot sun (the sill by my right arm was too hot to touch), sweating buckets, water bottle like bath water, phone packed up because it said it was too hot, stop start traffic all the way up the M25 and M1. I think I sweated a load of suncream into my eyes so my lenses were playing up and a bit blurry by the end. I felt beaten up by the time I got home! I certainly wouldn't do it at Thruxton again (unless I had a hotel or something and went home the next morning!)
Definitely not a patch on North Weald. Didn't someone say the other one isn't great for run off? I hope he's still looking for new venues, I really do think it's a great thing to do at least once a year, you can just do trackdays I suppose but it never feels like quite as much of a safe environment to get so far past the limit as you would on an AW day.
Re: Car Limits (aka Walshy days)
Still gutted I missed it, but sounds like Thruxton isnt worth the extra driving compared to Stafford, 4 hours round trip vs 90 mins.
I was hoping the skid pan would save my tyres as all 4 on the 550 looked like this, the z4 isnt that much lighter, can imagine the rears becoming slicks quite quickly.
I was hoping the skid pan would save my tyres as all 4 on the 550 looked like this, the z4 isnt that much lighter, can imagine the rears becoming slicks quite quickly.
Re: Car Limits (aka Walshy days)
Oof! 
Light is right*. 
* - In very specific circumstances.
Light is right*. * - In very specific circumstances.
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Rich B
- Posts: 12129
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:22 pm
- Currently Driving: T6.1 VW Transporter combi
S1 Lotus Elise
Re: Car Limits (aka Walshy days)
Nightmare!! id not really noticed how hot the sills get before, without the padding yours must be torture!!duncs500 wrote: Wed May 27, 2026 10:30 am
The worst bit of the day was the drive home though. Going on for 3hrs in the baking hot sun (the sill by my right arm was too hot to touch), sweating buckets, water bottle like bath water, phone packed up because it said it was too hot, stop start traffic all the way up the M25 and M1. I think I sweated a load of suncream into my eyes so my lenses were playing up and a bit blurry by the end. I felt beaten up by the time I got home! I certainly wouldn't do it at Thruxton again (unless I had a hotel or something and went home the next morning!)
Re: Car Limits (aka Walshy days)
I assume the pipework for the radiator runs through the sill?
Re: Car Limits (aka Walshy days)
Yeah, driver's side I think.
Re: Car Limits (aka Walshy days)
The guy in the Mk1 MX5 beat my best time (although Andy hasn't sent the video my best time... honest guv!). 
Jeez, the timed bit looks so slow.
Jeez, the timed bit looks so slow.
Re: Car Limits (aka Walshy days)
Ahh, you'll have driven pretty close to me there - near J5 of the M3. I've had a go on the skidpan there in the Fabia on a Mission Motorsport charity day, as well as an AutoSOLO in the paddock and a track day on the circuit. It's a usefully close venue for me. Does sound like a shame though. if there's inconsistent or limited opportunity to learn how the car behaves at high speed, like the North Weald venue had.
Left over crest; tightens.