Author: Kelvin Hughes
I didn't go down with the others as it's easier for me to go down the
M74---A66 to Scotch Corner then local roads to Croft. Just as well really as I
slept in and didn't leave the house until just before 7am. However, in true
Scottish Elises fashion I arrived within seconds of the others and with 10 mins
to spare before the briefing at 9am. The briefing was very good as they go and
their overtaking policy was very definitely only on the left and on the main
straights with the slower cars moving over which by and large everyone followed.
A beginners session was organised as the first session for people who had never
been on the track to show them the lines following Stef's car. Followed by
further follow my leader sessions for everyone else then an open pit for the
remainder of the day. We did our usual wait and let all the eager beavers go out
and get it out of their system strategy before venturing onto the track
ourselves.
The forecast for the day was torrential rain and maybe thunder storms later in
the afternoon and the forecast wasn't wrong! For those of you that followed Le
Mans this weekend you'll know how wet it was, well Croft was almost as wet at
times. It was certainly the wettest track day I've ever done and that's saying
something given that Knockhill is my local circuit. Aquaplaning at over 100 mph
on the start/finish straight was exciting! The early part of the day started off
quite greasy and very slippery, particularly through Hawthorn, Tower Bend (loads
of understeer) and the Complex section round to the hairpin. However, when the
clouds eventually opened up and it started to p$ss down, it cleaned up the track
and the grip
came back a bit. Actually I was surprised just how much grip there was given the
amount of standing water. On many of the bends the rear would start to break on
initial turn in or you would get a bit of understeer but once the car was
settled into the corner it all became quite predictable and loads of fun. At
Clervaux there was a puddle right on the apex which pushed the nose wide as soon
as you hit it. There was also a lot of standing water between Barcroft and Sunny
which caused the Elise to aquaplane a bit. I know we keep saying it but
the SO2's are fantastic regardless of how wet it is and my rears are only barely
legal. Being so wet, the tyres and brakes weren't going off much so I stayed out
for 30 minutes or more at a time. I reckoned I must have burned about 34 litres
of fuel on track over the day (-: In the afternoon it started to dry a bit and
for a while there was a dry line forming over much of the track which gave us a
brief taste of how fast Croft is. The section from Tower Bend through the The
Jim Clark Esses and Barcroft is fantastic, very fast and must be a huge rush
when you have plucked up the guts and to take it flat. I particularly liked
Hawthorn to the chicane and would loved to have driven this in perfect
conditions. Sunny was a good Elise corner as we were quicker through here than
many of the Scooby's generally which was true on all the tighter sections. I
struggled a bit with the first left hander into the Complex particularly with
getting the speed off, often locking up here and then again at the next right
hander. The hairpin seems to go on forever and is unbelievably tight. Campbell
would have loved it as it was a great opportunity to get it sideways which I was
trying to do until I nearly came a cropper here when I got on the power way
too early losing the backend and started to head towards the armco on the left.
I've got it on video and although it doesn't look too dramatic it wasa heart in
the mouth moment.
Although the track was forming a dry line I could see in the distance some very
black clouds rolling towards us so I decided to stay out until it started
raining again to make the most of it. In the end I stayed out for almost 45
minutes. When the rain started again it continued for the rest of the day and as
heavily as ever. I went out for one last session and on the second lap had a
huge 360 spin coming out of the chicane which I've got on video. I hit the
inside kerb very hard which seemed to be enough to lift the rear of the car up
losing traction and causing the spin. You can hear the engine race on the video
as I tried to catch it but it happened too suddenly. I did the "in a spin
both feet in" thang and managed to stop the car facing the right way up the
track with the engine still running. Rather than coming straight back in I
decided to do a couple of slow laps then come in. I wasn't the only spinner
though. Paul had a cracker on the second part of the complex right in front of
Lawrence and I when we were watching from the car park. Robin also had a 360 on
Hawthorn.
I had a great day despite the torrential rain and in the end was quite pleased
it was so wet as I learned more about driving the car in the wet in 1 day than I
have in the past 2 years. The track was also relatively empty, particularly
later on in the afternoon. I can thoroughly recommend a trip to Croft as it is a
very challenging and fast circuit requiring a lot of commitment to drive it
quickly. It's got a great selection of corners each offering their own challenge
that will take a long time and a huge number of laps to learn. We barely
scratched the surface of this fantastic circuit and I'll go back soon.
SCOTTISH ELISES AT CROFT 2000
Author: Campbell Ford
OUR ROUTE THERE:
Maryport - Keswick - Ullswater - Windermere - Kendal - Hawes - Leyburn - Richmond. To be highly recommended. Lawrence, Nick and Del drove a
different one, I'll leave them to document it.
CROFT CIRCUIT:
Twice the length of Knockhill but similar style of spectator embankments, makeshift hospitality, etc. All car parking on site but traffic management
a bit questionable (Lawrence could elaborate!).
TRACK ITSELF:
In good nick, lots of nice corners / combos, would be great for a club track day - but expensive and red-tape-bound, I hear. "Sunny" corner was
good for spectating, though they are out braking each other on the other side from the
spectator embankment before looping around in front of you. Reckon the Complex is good too (couple of big smashes in the BTCC races there).
THE RACES:
BTCC definitely needs more teams.
Fiesta and Clio races were the usual dollop of hell for leather one-make frenzy, loadsafun to watch and very close.
Motorsport Elises looked & sounded fantastic, also quite close racing and some obvious novices out there to add to the fun. We need this series at
Knockhill, the cars would be perfect for it.
THE DAY OUT AS A WHOLE:
Found some good viewing points, Lawrence located a free and endless supply of Kaliber alcohol-free lager, and we all got sunburnt. Met a few of our
Northumbrian contingent, which was good, who recommend a blast around Kielder Water & Forest. Set it up, lads.
THE ROUTE HOME:
WAHEY! Lawrence, Nick and Del found a great run down from Peebles avoiding the Scottish section of camera-infested A68. So we just used that on the
way back. Apart from the sunshine in our eyes most of the way, it was fantastic, and will be my own personal route of choice to the eastern side
of England in future. Roll on Donnie 2001 :-)
Pictures of Lotus Racing Series 2000