Ariel.Club Forum

[quote="CAT"]
Hi John

I should be able to start talking dates with you next week.  I'll drop you a PM when I have some options for you.

Jo
[/quote]
wicked
cheers

Hi John

I should be able to start talking dates with you next week.  I'll drop you a PM when I have some options for you.

Jo

[quote="CAT"]
Thought you might like to know:

If you read Evo Magazine, this months edition - January, on sale now - has a new member to the Ask the Expert panel.

None other than our Chief Instructor, Colin Hoad 

Page 171 & 173 are the valid pages for this edition.

Jo
[/quote]
Cool................. hey Cat, what dates u got for 2010? Would like to start organising our events and track day calendar pretty soon and anothe Millbrook day would be a good one I think

Thought you might like to know:

If you read Evo Magazine, this months edition - January, on sale now - has a new member to the Ask the Expert panel.

None other than our Chief Instructor, Colin Hoad 

Page 171 & 173 are the valid pages for this edition.

Jo

Thank you for your comments John.  You're not to blame it was a point of fact. 

As I said on the phone before the event, we will endeavour to look after you.  Keep your eye out for the next Atom day at Millbrook in 2010 and my PM at that time. 

Jo

[quote="CAT"]

The problem arose as John H cancelled his place for the day.  [/quote]
Oh yeah..............blame me..........................uffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff!
SUrely me not being there should have meant more time for Hedge rather than less????????????
He did complain about the wait between instruction periods.
ANyway, as you have now blamed me for Hedge having a poor day, can I come to the one on one too by way of recompense for such slander?

Hedge,

Do whatever they are offering, I have done a one on one with Colin and it is bloody fantastic. I relly genuinely believe I am a better driver as a result!

A

(I must have been sh1t before)

Hedge I’m really sorry to read that your experience wasn’t what we expect.  Apologies for not acknowledging your comments sooner but I’ve only just checked the forum. 

I wish you had spoken with us previously as we pride ourselves on delivering an excellent training experience.  We take feedback very seriously and if you don’t tell us we can’t learn and develop our service. 

The problem arose as John H cancelled his place for the day.  The format relies on both groups finishing at the same time before the gymkhana takes place – otherwise there could be one group finishing 1.5 hours earlier than the rest.  This was my reasoning that you worked with both instructors as it meant your waiting time was the same as your fellow attendees and therefore at a minimum.  It obviously gave you a different experience which was not positive. 

In the 4 years the car club format has been running there have been a few instances where a similar situation has occurred but no complaints have been raised.  In light of your comments we will review the options available and endeavour to give continuity. 

This day has formed to become a sociable as well as educational day for car club members.  It is modelled on attending a track day where waiting time is part of the process.  The inclusion of the engineer, hospitality as well as the end of day competitive event in our Caterham 7 appeals to many driving enthusiasts.  The alternative for those who prefer more focussed dedicated time is our one to one training activities which take place everyday - as Trigger and Drinks mention above. 

A PM is on its way to you with an offer to return for a one to one session which we trust will counter your negative experience. 

Jo

Looking at the different days you can do I think the way to get real value is not to go as part of a group. My wife did 1 to 1 for half a day and I did 1 to 2, with one friend in Lotus 2-11 (so, similar things to learn) - both with just Colin. Both days were tailored totally to what we wanted and the days were perfect. I found I was so much more confident in the Atom on track afterwards.

The group days are cheaper but just dont give you the overall value. Colin's great strength was his understanding of what was needed so I can quite see how you wouldnt get so much on a shared day Hedge.

Trigger

My day with CAT wasn't great.

This is nothing to do with the set up/ day itself. I think it's a great day.

My problem was that I was shared between Instructors, pure and as simple as that. We did, what, 4/5 disciplines? I did 2 with Colin and 3 with the other guy (sorry, can't recall his name). No matter how much they try to preach the same techniques etc, there's no getting away from the fact that they obviously instruct in different ways.

Maybe it's because I'm an average driver but I found it confusing. I also had to wait interminably between disciplines because I was sharing instructors. Got on me bloody wick, in the end.

The most frustrating thing was that my time with Colin was the best. But I only "had" him twice, for 10/ 15 mins a time.

I wasn't going to put this up; you may have noticed I was the only attendant at the earlier gig that didn't pipe up afterwards  But my experience/ opinion shouldn't put anyone off, not for one second. I think I just got unlucky on the day, that's all. To that end, I haven't bothered talking to the CAT punters about it, either.

Cheers, Hedge

Spent the day with Colin yesterday. What a fantastic bit of training this is.

I have been very nervous in/of the car and struggling to get to grips with characteristics. I think probably 90% of this is down to my confidence. There was a discussion with Colin at the start and it felt the day was tailored to help me get over this.

It's amazing how much more confident I was driving home from this day compared to the drive down. I had a really enjoyable day where Colin pushes you to explore your limits with a nice balance of theory and practice. Colin also makes sure that you are still within your comfort zone before pushing you a little harder.

Lots of critique sessions intersperse each activity, Colin has a great method of highlighting even the negative points in an easy to swallow way. Even with the whiteboard it never feels like you are being lectured.

It is definately one of the most enjoyable days I have had in the car.

Reading back through the speeds others were getting on the bowl makes mine sound feeble! First attempt I got to 115 and then held my breath for at least half a lap. Decided it wasn't for me and chickened out down to about 100. Colin then coaxed me back up to 118 which I happily held for a few laps but 140+, no way!

The handling circuit is cracking fun had a good play early on and then revisited right at the end for some timed runs to see how consistently I could lap over 3 laps. Managed 2 laps within 0.1 seconds of each other, the third would have been very similar. I think it was about half a second quicker, I was having such a good time, I forgot about trying to be consistent and gave it more throttle on the straight

A day of one-to-one tuition isn't cheap but for me it was well worth it. Really looking to pushing on at My next trackday in a few weeks.

Just booked a day with CAT. Can someone recommend some local accomodation please?

........ and Hedge .......


A

[quote="AlanP"]
....... and might I also say, I have yet to meet an Atom owner who was not a decent bloke!

(except the obvious)


AP
[/quote]
bollox, u have met me before eh?

[quote="Trigger"]
Jo Lloyd was on the same day as me and the 2-11 has left turn oil starvation issues - she was fine but Colin was watching the warning light.

We discussed it though and with a banked track like this the forces are not so lateral - at 100 mph you dont need to steer for example. I dont know the equivalent speed on a flat track would be but its no where near 140-150 mph. I am not convinced there would be a problem.
[/quote]

It's not the speed per se that you need to consider, but the lateral G force.  As you point out, on a banked track the lateral force is lower at a given speed/corner radius combination than on the flat so it will be less of an issue, but could still have an effect. 

Datalogging an oil pressure sensor round a circuit would be the best way to get a proper answer to the quesiton of whether a drysump solution would make a difference I guess.