Spa for the first time....what a circuit...!

[TrackDayBore]

Hi Guys,

Took the Atom to Spa this week for the first time - what a great circuit...!

For those with an idle moment....me "trying" to hang onto an Aston.


Atom and Aston at Spa

Cheers,
Barry.

[PaulP]

Excellent video. I really enjoyed that.

Not keen on the drivers view of the bonnet when the windscreens off. Didn't seem to put you off a great drive though.

[TrackDayBore]

[quote="PaulP"]

Not keen on the drivers view of the bonnet when the windscreens off
[/quote]

Hi Paul,

I use the bonnet profile as a sort of "gun sight" 

Cheers,

[jpswift]

good stuff baz

i know you wont have been hanging about so shows what a great job that aston was doing !

[Toilet Duck]

Yet another top quality "TrackDayBore Production" 

Amazing driving skills as usual, looks a superb circuit 

[TrackDayBore]

[quote="Toilet Duck"]
Yet another top quality "TrackDayBore Production" 

Amazing driving skills as usual, looks a superb circuit 
[/quote]

You've just won free membership to the TrackDayBore fanclub...

[fb.george]

Loved that.
Spa definitely on my bucket list to drive

[meladdo]

Nice vid and great commitment on the straights - those speeds in an Atom must take some getting used to....Reminds me of a passenger ride from Darren at Oulton Park in Cheshire - yjr only thing he couldnt get past was a race prepped Aston on huge race tyres - caught him on the bends and just not enough to get him as he opened up the gap at over 150 mph....

My hoop was clenched I can tell you.....all in an Aldi Lid at the time .....things a newbie will do to get a ride in an Atom....

[wattie]

Yup excellent
Cheers Wattie

[speedmachine]

looks great! Nice vid. Was this some kind of fully prepped Aston with a very dedicated driver? You guys are passing cars which should be faster than the Aston (GT3) and actually, you should be faster too, or am I missing something? It doesn't look like you are not pushing the car...

[meladdo]

[quote="speedmachine"]
looks great! Nice vid. Was this some kind of fully prepped Aston with a very dedicated driver? You guys are passing cars which should be faster than the Aston (GT3) and actually, you should be faster too, or am I missing something? It doesn't look like you are not pushing the car...
[/quote]

Was similar to my experience as posted above (probably) - catch em on the bends but if the race prepped Aston is stripped of all unwanted / needed bloatware and has a race engine - maybe with 580 bhp plus once you get up at the 140mph the Atom will with its diminished aerodynamics will start to loose against the aerodynamically less challenged Aston...with plenty of grunt to push it.

What you need is a track with shorted straights and more twisty bits then it would most likely be an Atom victory.

Just my thoughts...

And then there is driver limitations and traffic on track......all in all a great drive to my eyes

[TrackDayBore]

I won't delve too deeply into my "box of excuses" but...
As you can see, some (ok most) of my lines are pants, and as for running up to corners on the rev-limiter well, I haven't even been able to find an excuse to cover this point.

The Aston for certain, must have been pumping out at least 1000 bhp and driven by some foreigner called Alonso Vettel, and yet, there is no better way to spend your 60th birthday, than spanking around a circuit like Spa in an Ariel Atom 

[speedmachine]

I laughed my pants off with that last couple of lines...but at the same time you gave the best possible excuse...the elderly are mostly slow and careful drivers 

On the other hand, you and this 1000 bhp Aston Martin  are passing enough cars to be sure your pace is quite good for the first time on the circuit!

[Bruce Fielding]

I wasn't going to mention your lines... But they were, I'm sure, just down to lack of experience of the track. Did you have someone show you around first? I always find that incredibly helpful when going to a new track.

And if you think that Spa is fun in the dry, you should see what a hoot it is to do it in the wet. Awesome.

I didn't enjoy watching that cracking video though. It just made me want to get back to Spa as soon as possible - I miss the place.

[TrackDayBore]

[quote="Bruce Fielding"]
I wasn't going to mention your lines... But they were, I'm sure, just down to lack of experience of the track. Did you have someone show you around first? I always find that incredibly helpful when going to a new track.

And if you think that Spa is fun in the dry, you should see what a hoot it is to do it in the wet. Awesome.

I didn't enjoy watching that cracking video though. It just made me want to get back to Spa as soon as possible - I miss the place.
[/quote]

Hi Bruce,

Had a quick rummage in the "box of excuses" and 'discovered' the lines I'm driving in the video are 'wet lines'  from the previous day, when it rained continuously ...your right, it was a hoot....!

Tuition is of course the fastest way to learn the 'right lines'...trouble is, no instructor will get in the car with me