Warning – Slow Moving Vehicle: A Blog by Ed Sarling

Written by Motorsport Tutor, Ed Sarling

Arriving at Donington circuit as soon as the gates opened, it was a warm and sunny day with no sign of rain.

I parked the truck in our allocated garage bay and we had set up and got the cars in the garage some 20 minutes later – The C1 and the MR2 just seemed so much quicker to unload than the Mosler! Plus, we did have a laugh when I was able to easily 3-point turn the C1 within the pit garage! From here it was off to sign on.

For those that dont know, this was the first proper outing on track at Donington for myself and Kieran, and Wayne has only done it once before when he got the chance to jump in the 2CV he has been developing an aero package for; as we like to remind people, we dont just teach in the industry, we still work in it too!

Next up was the briefing – some common sense advice along with important safety information, track limits, pit entry and exit details, and flag reminders. We were also told it was a maximum capacity day and so very busy.

The C1 even got a special mention as being one to be careful of as it wouldn’t be as quick as most other vehicles out there. I did feel that ‘not as quick’ was still a very generous description and would probably have rather gone with ‘painfully slow rolling obstacle’.

For those of my generation that remember Out Run and how there wasn’t exactly much depth perception ahead of you, well that’s how I imagine it was for anything approaching on the C1.

With all that said, most of the drivers were very respectful and gave me plenty of space as I did them, trying not to hold them up or get in their way. As it turns out though, the stereotype of BMW drivers carries over to the track too! (All opinions here are mine and not that of the NMA….haha)

The C1 is an interesting drive to say the least. With its back end that wants to be the front end under heavy braking, the tyres that ‘walk’ across the track when pushing hard through a bend, and the CoG that feels like you are riding the moon.

But one thing that is for sure, it puts one huge grin on your face as you keep the throttle pedal mashed hard to the floor, just waiting for the rev counter needle to rise at a rate that seems slower than the minute hand moved on the clock at 5 minutes to the end of the working day before you break up for a two week holiday. Speaking of two week holiday, that’s how long it feels like your lap times are. But still, what a barrel of laughs.

The students didn’t have a huge amount to do throughout the day, but after our last couple of outings where the car was having to be man-handled on to the truck in a sorry state, it was actually a pleasant change and they actually got to have conversations, discuss the course, and enjoy some of the other fantastic machinery there.

After lunch, Kieran and Wayne (having also taken out the C1 for some laps with equally big grins) went out off for their ARDS tests. This involves some time watching an informative video and listening to an instructor, followed by a written multiple-choice test which covers track etiquette, flag knowledge, and general safety.

After this they were out on track to prove they can follow a safe racing line, be aware of other vehicles on track, an keep a good pace (though no lap records were needing to be broken). This all went well for both of them achieving 100% perfect scores, and Kieran even had fun being able to gloat of his overtake of me, though he did concede this was a little unfair as I was fresh out the pits on an out-lap, but then as they say, winning is winning!

My afternoon was dedicated to the MR2, and what a change it was from the C1. Much like how the ambient temperature always feels so much greater after jumping in an ice bath, so too the MR’ felt like a rocket ship with what was pretty much double the horsepower of the C1 while still being the same weight.

I was only brought back down to earth when nearly everything else out there was still overtaking me. However, to be fair to the little red roadster it is still in complete road trim from a performance standpoint, apart from mild lowering springs and an exhaust system, so I was never expecting it to set the world on fire. What it did do though was give us some base times and data to start working from so we can properly track the development process.

Data-logging is definitely something that I want to get sorted on the car so we can see what my throttle and braking is looking like, along with my track position.

We all feel like we are doing everything we should be until the data tells a different story, and that’s were the lap times start falling as these small refinements are made. I currently have my good friend at jbdataengineering looking into the best options so we can switch a unit between the C1, MR2, and MX5…… and also possibly the Fiesta ST when Kieran finds one to buy? He was super impressed by the ARDS one and I have to agree that they too are a car that just makes you smile all the way round the track.

Kieran, hurry up and join us in nuggety car goodness!!!

So what’s next for the cars then. Well, we are in the workshop on the 19th of this month (August) with a selection of student helpers where we will be changing the front lower arms on the C1 and stringing for toe, fitting new fully adjustable shocks, adjustable ARBs, and adjustable rear toe arms to the MR2 and then setting it all up, along with fitting the fire extinguisher system, and then stripping the interior from the MX5 for rust assessment and initial prep to becoming race car!

The final piece of news to update is that parts are starting to come back for the Mosler, so this can soon start taking shape again.

What the future will be for it is something we will look at down the road (pun intended) when the repairs are complete, but one thing that is becoming clear is that it isn’t so much the car that makes the student days great, but the people, the teamwork, and the experiences that are had along the way, and I thank each and every one of them for all their hard work and dedication.