Joined
·
8,330 Posts
Another great day out organised by the pure Mclaren guys... Weather was kind to us (in so far as it wasn't too hot... Had been 37 degrees the previous day)
We had a lot of new owners there I.e not ones who had attended previous events, most of whom came from geneva in fact, although there were some from France ..
Equally there seems to be a core who are attending a few of the events and its great to see a few familiar faces which makes the event even more enjoyable..
The whole event has been further polished from the earlier ones, and clearly there is still plenty of thought going on as to how to improve them further... The big difference this time was that the guys in the pit lane were very much focused on the owners as well as the prospects driving the pure Mclaren cars. So whilst previously you could ask for assistance which would have been given, the guys are now actively checking pressures,fluid levels, pad levels and tyre wear throughout the day, so whilst as an owner I would do this as a matter of course, it's reassuring to know that one of Lewis' pit crew is checking your car over as well..(I kid you not, Sam was part of the team for Lewis' record stop last year.. Left rear 'on' I believe. ) Equally the time with the instructors makes a huge difference to your progress and although I initially thought that having the instructor at the beginning of the day was a bad idea, now that its happened twice, I have found it to be extremely beneficial..
There was no support from the 'local' dealers or Pirelli yesterday, but I understand that they are going to take these functions 'in house' from donington, so that should be another positive evolution and makes a lot of sense for everyone concerned. There's also thoughts about hte pure Mclaren guys transporting track wheels and tyres for those owners that wish, either those owners that have their own separate wheels and tyres or they are looking at 'renting' wheels and tyres although I struggle to see how the rental option would work for them. Ultimately it would seem that if you were so inclined you could drive cross country on your p zeros and then have them fit your corsas when you arrive... Of course they can just bring you a new set next time round if you're really pushing on!
I for one am really looking forward to them announcing their driver program which will be, for me, a great enhancement.. (Although separate events to these pure Mclaren experience days).. The staff as ever were courteous and very helpful and ultimately just really nice people to spend a day with.
As for the car, I didn't think that I could enjoy it more than I do, but each time it's better and better as confidence in it on track continues to rise... Have done about 1200 track miles in it and it hasn't missed a beat.. The consumables need replacing now but even that has surprised me how long they have lasted... 7500 miles overall.. I am debating whether to fit corsas but have had mixed reviews (some good, some not so) about the relative benefits on track against the downside on road.. As I chased down and passed the only guy on trofeo yesterday (who unfortunately binned his car shortly after) I have some hard thinking to do..
We had travelled down from the uk over two days stopping in geneva and its extraordinary to think that the car that we had comfortably travelled over 1000 miles in with stereo on (now truly excellent sound with good front end source.. Speakers definitely need running in), making and receiving calls without problem and with the sat nav even showing us the right way, was the same one that was braking from 270 kmh (168 mph) and leaving dark stripes of rubber on the exit...
As I sad to Sam. 'Tell uncle Ron he makes a ******* great car'
We had a lot of new owners there I.e not ones who had attended previous events, most of whom came from geneva in fact, although there were some from France ..
Equally there seems to be a core who are attending a few of the events and its great to see a few familiar faces which makes the event even more enjoyable..
The whole event has been further polished from the earlier ones, and clearly there is still plenty of thought going on as to how to improve them further... The big difference this time was that the guys in the pit lane were very much focused on the owners as well as the prospects driving the pure Mclaren cars. So whilst previously you could ask for assistance which would have been given, the guys are now actively checking pressures,fluid levels, pad levels and tyre wear throughout the day, so whilst as an owner I would do this as a matter of course, it's reassuring to know that one of Lewis' pit crew is checking your car over as well..(I kid you not, Sam was part of the team for Lewis' record stop last year.. Left rear 'on' I believe. ) Equally the time with the instructors makes a huge difference to your progress and although I initially thought that having the instructor at the beginning of the day was a bad idea, now that its happened twice, I have found it to be extremely beneficial..
There was no support from the 'local' dealers or Pirelli yesterday, but I understand that they are going to take these functions 'in house' from donington, so that should be another positive evolution and makes a lot of sense for everyone concerned. There's also thoughts about hte pure Mclaren guys transporting track wheels and tyres for those owners that wish, either those owners that have their own separate wheels and tyres or they are looking at 'renting' wheels and tyres although I struggle to see how the rental option would work for them. Ultimately it would seem that if you were so inclined you could drive cross country on your p zeros and then have them fit your corsas when you arrive... Of course they can just bring you a new set next time round if you're really pushing on!
I for one am really looking forward to them announcing their driver program which will be, for me, a great enhancement.. (Although separate events to these pure Mclaren experience days).. The staff as ever were courteous and very helpful and ultimately just really nice people to spend a day with.
As for the car, I didn't think that I could enjoy it more than I do, but each time it's better and better as confidence in it on track continues to rise... Have done about 1200 track miles in it and it hasn't missed a beat.. The consumables need replacing now but even that has surprised me how long they have lasted... 7500 miles overall.. I am debating whether to fit corsas but have had mixed reviews (some good, some not so) about the relative benefits on track against the downside on road.. As I chased down and passed the only guy on trofeo yesterday (who unfortunately binned his car shortly after) I have some hard thinking to do..
We had travelled down from the uk over two days stopping in geneva and its extraordinary to think that the car that we had comfortably travelled over 1000 miles in with stereo on (now truly excellent sound with good front end source.. Speakers definitely need running in), making and receiving calls without problem and with the sat nav even showing us the right way, was the same one that was braking from 270 kmh (168 mph) and leaving dark stripes of rubber on the exit...
As I sad to Sam. 'Tell uncle Ron he makes a ******* great car'
