Having thought long and hard, and consulted trusted friends, I have reluctantly and regrettably decided to take no further action on a return to the PEC Precision Driving Course. Many factors are at play in my reaching this decision. Not least of which is to be grateful for the two previous PEC opportunities which did so much to restore and improve my track diving skills prior to returning to competitive motorsport.
Dan is quite right in suggesting taking the PEC hire car rather than using your own car. Besides the obvious wear and tear on tyres and brakes, the Silverstone track sessions are shared with other cars driven by drivers of widely varying abilities. The appeal of driving your own car on this iconic circuit is a strong pull, but no matter how diligent you are at keeping it on the black stuff, other cars sharing the same track space can throw unpredictable consequences in the blink of an eye. Race cars driven by Pro-Am wannabes are always the last of the late brakers and will cut you up at the braking zone approach to slower corners. I had this very experience during the Pilot Sport Challenge when a sports racing Radical mugged me at the turn-in to Club corner. There was not a lot of room I can assure you.
It was a nice thought returning to Silverstone GP circuit for another go in a car as capable as the CGTS 4.0 PDK. On this occasion discretion overruled my heart. I'll rest on my past experiences.
Back to reality and the rewarding spectacle of the tall ships event at Aberdeen last weekend. This international maritime jamboree was a spectacular display of historic sailing ships of all sizes. Over 70 vessels attended during the 4 days at Aberdeen harbour. Visitors were efficiently marshalled on the quaysides to inspect the ships at their moorings, some of which were available for boarding. On the final day huge crowds lined Aberdeen beach promenades to watch the sail away to the next destination in Norway. It had been 28 years since the previous tall ships event at Aberdeen so it is unlikely, nay a certainty, that I shall live to see another revisit of this amazing event.
Brian.
Dan is quite right in suggesting taking the PEC hire car rather than using your own car. Besides the obvious wear and tear on tyres and brakes, the Silverstone track sessions are shared with other cars driven by drivers of widely varying abilities. The appeal of driving your own car on this iconic circuit is a strong pull, but no matter how diligent you are at keeping it on the black stuff, other cars sharing the same track space can throw unpredictable consequences in the blink of an eye. Race cars driven by Pro-Am wannabes are always the last of the late brakers and will cut you up at the braking zone approach to slower corners. I had this very experience during the Pilot Sport Challenge when a sports racing Radical mugged me at the turn-in to Club corner. There was not a lot of room I can assure you.
It was a nice thought returning to Silverstone GP circuit for another go in a car as capable as the CGTS 4.0 PDK. On this occasion discretion overruled my heart. I'll rest on my past experiences.
Back to reality and the rewarding spectacle of the tall ships event at Aberdeen last weekend. This international maritime jamboree was a spectacular display of historic sailing ships of all sizes. Over 70 vessels attended during the 4 days at Aberdeen harbour. Visitors were efficiently marshalled on the quaysides to inspect the ships at their moorings, some of which were available for boarding. On the final day huge crowds lined Aberdeen beach promenades to watch the sail away to the next destination in Norway. It had been 28 years since the previous tall ships event at Aberdeen so it is unlikely, nay a certainty, that I shall live to see another revisit of this amazing event.
Brian.
