Our friends at JDMyard organised another private track day at Wakefield in Goulburn, and of-course I was there with bells on.
Hands down, private track days are THE BEST track days out as you’ve got a small group of drivers, an open pitt lane which means you can go out at any time you like, and there aren’t any time restrictions. IE: You could even stay out all day until your fuel ran out (or car blows up), it’s your call!
This time around we went one better and hired the cabins on the track. What we didn’t plan on was getting whack the night before (hey it was JDMyard’s race driver Adam’s B’Day afterall!). Hilarious really as the whole concept of staying out there the night before is meant to be so you could rest up and hit the track fresh the next morning!
PS: I took the MX-5 despite it’s engine being on it’s way out. Dale from DM Motorsport did a great job on the alignment. It’s exactly what I wanted. The car is slow, so a really tail happy set-up made the car twitchy and a whole lot of fun. The steering wheel requiring a lot of input in order to keep it on the circuit when on the limit. I tried my best to hit a 1.16 (which was my best time in my old MX-5 on semi slicks, keep in mind my car has a sick high km’s engine and street tyres!). I managed a best of 1.17.002. .002! Sigh (haha).
We waited for the traffic to die down and we drove swiftly through the night. First and only stop, Pheasants Nest. This is Zi’s newly acquired S2K. Thing if beauty!
We were all starving, and just as we rocked up the guys who were already at the cabin served a killer hot pot! Perfect for the freezing Goulburn temps!
The cabins were once for the Olympians during the Sydney Olympics. Heaps of bedrooms, 3 single beds/room and showers, toilets and sinks line an entire side of the hallway. Totally functional!
A few beers, Belvedere Vodka… things escalated so quickly! Keep in mind it was FREEZING out there. This was followed by running around the circuit in pitch black, and much much more hilarity ensued till way past everyone’s bedtime!
B’Day boy got his cake.
And ate it too!
This is what happens when you pass out.
The cold woke us all up, but we were greeted with the warmth of the sun.
The cars were cold too, some requiring a bit of effort to start up!
My socks were wet, so I jammed them in the heater in the lounge room (the only heater in the cabin), saved my ass!
So good to see the bike boys out. Jing, Brandon, Matthew. So rad! Jing let me have a go at his BRZ and I’m happy to say the hype is real. First lap out I had full oppy lock without even trying. The thing is a LOT of fun on the track! I lost control a couple of times but never quite spun out (it’s easy to catch the tail). Miss the apex and it understeers bad, but get it right and it’s a hoot!
Winner of loudest car of the day.
Kiet’s EG. Still a work in progress, but a 1.07 ain’t too shabby!
Photographer extraordinaire Matthew Mead’s new car, which took quite a lot of people by surprise, she’s pretty quick!
Hungry Jacks on the way home has become a tradition over the years.
Just what I needed to get home without sleeping at the wheel!