Classic, Kit and Retro - Castle Combe 2015

Classic, Kit and Retro used to be just classic and retro, however with the declining number of car shows, kit cars were allowed to join and merged into the show. It has the usual static stands and market stalls/manufacturers but what caught my attention was the opportunity for track time. I've never had the chance to do a track day, money and timing being an issue and finding the confidence to do it. After a lot of thought I decided I would attend and decide on the day if I wanted to have a 15 minute slot on the track.

With my parents living in a small village in Wiltshire only 40 minutes from Castle Combe, it made perfect sense to make the journey down from Coventry and visit them, 2 birds one stone and all that. This was my only other kit car show appearance other than Stoneleigh so I was keen to meet a few other Rhocar members and maybe introduce the family to the world of kit cars I have become addicted to. In the end it was just me and my Dad that went to the show, my Brother with work commitments and Mum deciding a Father-Son day would be better as it wasn't quite a family day out in the end. (Secretly I don't think she was at all keen to go along....soon I'll change that!) So here I am, parked up with the Rhocar crew!

The worst thing about the day was all the passers by who kept asking my Dad what engine is was, how good it looked, did he build it....however the look on their face when he pointed them in my direction was priceless! Still can't get over the look I get when they realise a "youngster" built it!

 I had decided to take the plunge and have a go on the track. Having looked into track day insurance briefly I had been put off by the "prices starting at £69" which with being a young driver clearly would be higher. For a 15 minute blast on track (costing £35) I decided that over £100 for 15 minutes just wouldn't be worth it as an actual track day would be say £200 for the track time plus insurance costs but get many more sessions on track. However finding that the insurance was not compulsory and you were only responsible for your own car no matter what the circumstances, I took the risk.

For those who have ever been on a track day, here are the obligatory snaps from the track day photographer that captures your track action. First time on track, it would have been rude not to!

Despite being only 15 minutes, it felt just about right. I was rather nervous at first and with my Dad in the passenger seat (extra ballast) his last words before we started were "take it easy". So the first couple laps I used as sighters having never driven at Castle Combe nor even on a track before. However a few laps in I started to gain confidence and push the car a little bit further.

Overall with my Dad in the car I could not push the car to the limit (even on my own I don't think I'd have gone in search for it to be fair) however it was a very humbling experience. Having only ever driven on the road and not going out on a fast run with other kit car owners, I felt my car was pretty quick....I was so wrong. I would be flat out in the power band coming out of the corners and still have someone drive by me like I would do to an old 1 litre Corsa! Eitherway I still managed 2 overtakes so I wasn't the slowest person out there at least!

One thing I have also learnt about myself is my extraordinary ability to leave something to the last minute and still pull it out the bag. My dissertation, finding a job, even father day gifts. What you see here below is the result of realising Fathers Day is on the weekend of Classic, Kit and Retro but also the face of not having a present organised.

And here is why. My Dad helped me a lot during the build financially when I ended up spending my final year course fees and also postponing rent payments when cash flow was tough. I always managed to pay him back but without the loans/periods of credit, I would probably have been delayed in my build or even forced to sell up. So for fathers day I let him drive the Zero on track - he's never driven it before!!!


Luckily just after my track session there was a slow parade lap so he was able to at least begin to get a feel for the car before unleashing it in all its fury.....or at least that was the aim!

The parade lap was a few laps of the circuit at "30mph maximum" and built up his eagerness to drive the car a bit quicker. Plus it reassured me that he'd be able to cope with driving the car as he's never actually done more than pump the brake pedal for me before!

I hated sitting in this side of the car, however I did notice the cameraman and get a cheeky photogenic snap. Shame I'm not in the drivers seat, I would have loved that!

In our eagerness, we ended up being first to the pitlane...which meant first out on track....I'm not sure how the rolling roadblock went down with other users but track etiquette was complied with generally and I became less and less worried about being rear-ended. Dad's speed wasn't enough to reach the crash barriers if he came off!

Note: Those tyre tracks are not from Dad, however with a sneaky bit of photoshop...anything is possible!













We finally managed to get a shot of just Dad and the car. Not sure if everyone else had finished and gone home or we had found a space on the track. Eitherway as the lap count increased, so did Dad's confidence and soon he was working up to a reasonable speed. Still think he was anxious about pushing too hard, just in case....would it be possible to put your Dad up for adoption? Lol.

Anyway after his blast around the track he was determined to figure out how fast he'd gone. Unfortunately this was a complete oversight by both of us and he'd tried to use his running app....this seemed to give sporadic readings and not really ideal for a track attack.

Parked up safe again. We all survived!

Using the videos I estimated lap times around 1 minute 27 for me and around 2 minutes for Dad. Not bad considering the lap record for the similar class Caterhams (little less horsepower and better semi slick tyres, oh and minus the extra ballast of Dad  heavier total weight) is around 1 minute 21 seconds! Not bad considering they're clearly experienced racers! Best get practising, is it too late to get to F1?!? 

Track videos can be found below. All raw footage and unedited.

My Lap

Dad's Lap