Peter and I took our cars out to Wakefield over the Easter long weekend. A public holiday event with Trackschool meant that it was guaranteed to be busy, 75 cars in fact!
Exploring this option with a few mates, the enthusiasm wasn’t great due to the potential of on-track traffic and a busy day in the paddock. However I was fortunate that the Hoskins crew all signed up to attend.
Or maybe, it was fortunate for them. Particularly with dear leader Ralph not able to attend weekday events, it has been difficult for the gang to get together for a collective track battle, but we managed it on a very Good Friday!
Richard in the Yaris, James in his MR-S, Korean James in his newly acquired DC5R and Ralph debuting his B-series CRX. It was Peter’s first time at Wakefield, and second ever outing on track, and I took my recently manual-swapped E46 M3 out for a bit of fun.
The rest of the crew came along to support, Matt decided to put in a holiday shift for Hoskins by running a mint BBQ for food and drinks aplenty.
Nobody broke any records that day, it was rust for some, learning the vehicle for others or simply not having the right tools to put down a quick time.
Are track days really just about the lap times though? As much satisfaction as dropping the tenths brings, I think all of us would rather the giggles, laughter and banter that came with our on-track “battles”. James cursing at Ralph whenever he got gapped, Jack and I watching in both shock and awe as Richard decided to go off roading (successfully) on Turn 6, even Peter dropping back into the pits after every session after completing another on-track spin.
It’s easy to get lost in the minute details, the thousands of seconds gained by the perfect conditions or mods that put you a little faster. Yes, for some circuit driving is their release, a way to get the juices flowing and push for accomplishment and achievement.
For rookies like us though? To paraphrase Drake poorly, “I’m here for a good time, not a lap time”.
Should be a t-shirt design to be honest!