The sun is shining, no wind predicted, 24C. And there's a track day at the local circuit - Killarney.
Unfortunately, the car i have on loan isn't quite up to circuit racing, as it is a 2013 Nissan Murano.
And the best laid plans etc etc etc went agley, as the original idea was to go and fetch my friend Neels, who is blind, and his seeing-eye labrador Tequila,and take them out for a spin in the countryside, and a spot of lunch.
But a few calls on Friday put paid to that - there's a race-prepared M3 which we have access to, and a chat to the circuit events manager led to an invite for Neels to come along and get a couple of hot laps in, as a passenger.
Sadly, Tequila won't be coming along, as the pit lane is a bit noisy, even for highly-trained dogs.
I'll see if I can get some pictures. and also do a review on the Murano, which up till now has been quite nice, though i suspect could be a bit of a gas guzzler around town. Still, 3.5l V6s are great fun.
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Bit of follow-up.
Car set up.
tinyurl.com/d38nslf
Neels is the chap in the blue shirt. I dunno who the cro-magnon in the waistcoat is. Probably a beggar.
tinyurl.com/d3qsxmj
Mike the driver's comments:
"He really surprised me! He just hopped into the BMW, if he was nervous or scared he showed non of it! The first time Nick took me on the track with this car I was terrified! For the first few laps I warned him of upcoming corners, told him things like oil temps, how the car feels and we chatted about lines which I was barely doing correctly despite knowing them.
By the third lap he knew exactly where we were on the track.
He was telling me when to brake and on the last session he was commenting that I had mastered the line on Engen corner but am useless at Wesbank Corner... When a mad max Citi (running 1:36's on its first track outing) passed us he even commented "theres always a citigolf thats faster" without me even telling him what car it was. Overall he felt my second session was decent even if I was only doing 1:40's!
We did some filming with the GoPro's. They came out great except for lots of wind noise despite me using the sealed holders but we can tweak it."
Neels said he would have learned quicker, but he was a bit disoriented because of the helmet.
He's one chap I admire a lot - doesn't let his disability get in the way of having a good time, and I've never heard a 'woes is me' from him.
Expect video link soon.
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Off to the track - Ian (Cape Town)
