The Donington Park trackday on August 17th 2020, was one of the two trackdays I kept from the trackdays I had booked for my Lotus Exige.
Image: Donington Park GP Circuit
This day started off a little bit badly before it even started. The previous day, I heard a strange 'boing' noise when going around the final roundabout to get to my night's stay (Holiday Inn Express East Midlands Airport). I looked around and under the car and could not see anything. When I arrived at Donington Park and had a further look, I could see that one of the exhaust mountings was catching the lower rear wishbone (on the driver side.) Take a look at the pictures below:
When I noticed this, I was ready to cancel the trackday. On speaking to a couple of experienced guys there (Gary and Mike) on Martin's suggestion, they advised that if it catches, they can jack the car up and adjust it. Fortunately I didn't hear it catching (perhaps a bit hard with a helmet on) so it's been left for DynotechRS to adjust.
The trackday - of which I only did the 4 morning sessions - was fantastic. Donington Park is a great circuit. It's essentially a lot of fast corners until the final section.
The Porsche Cayman is the heaviest car I've tracked. And, to be honest, it felt it. Even in sport mode (I prefer using sport mode as it is a bit noisier, and slightly less turbo boost - so saves the car a little bit) with sport plus suspension enabled, and seat nearly fully lowered, it didn't feel anything like as tight as an Exige or Elise - then again, it would be unfair to expect this. The best trackday cars are lightweights. I actually think even the Exige V6 is a little ungainly, a Lotus Elise Cup 250 is perfect.
What I've learnt about trackdays, is that many people go about it completely the wrong way. I've gone about trackdays completely the wrong way. Essentially, I was able to afford a nice car (Lotus Elise back in 2017) and then thought "what can I do to enjoy this car", and the answer was trackdays. In reality I should have bought something nice and cheap like an MX-5, and tracked that with the roof down. I would have more fun in an MX-5 and this great experience would be much cheaper.
Which leads on to the second problem from the trackday, a slow puncture. Somehow (might not have been on the trackday) I got a puncture in the sidewall of the rear driver side tyre. Being in the sidewall means the tyre cannot be repaired, so it's a brand new tyre for nearly £300 including fitting.
Lesson learnt:
"Don't buy cars that are too expensive for you to enjoy!"
The Cayman is an awesome car. Alas, I'm feeling the cost of cars weighing on me. The Cayman is the last exotic car I will ever own. I want to enjoy affordable cars going forward, like the Mazda MX-5 or Toyota GT86.
The Cayman is my last hurrah at owning an exotic!
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