Lydden Hill Sprint (9/5/15)

11th May 2015

Lydden Hill Sprint (9/5/15)

Lydden Hill 9th May
Finally the Stilo Wagon hits the circuit - and it doesn't come last !!!

Ok so you are probably a bit bored with me talking about doing sprints in probably one of the slowest cars ever entered but money is too tight to mention and I'd happily accept gainful employment rather than selling Performance Parts for peanuts...

Anyway my theory is if I don't get out and immerse myself in some form of motorsport I'm never going to turn sales around. I started Balance in 2004 after a successful season sprinting so it was overdue.

It was a lovely day (until the sprint finished when it poured down for the VW fans turning up for the Apex Festival) for racing. The Lydden circuit has changed quite a bit with all the developments in Rally Cross and I'm sure you're familiar with it from the various Top Gear features. Although if I made a big mistake I could end up on the rallycross section, the idea of today is staying on the race circuit.

If you've not done a Sprint before but have done a Track Day I would recommend sprints every time. Yes track time is less but the buzz is huge. The adrenaline flows on the startline (even in a Stilo 1.6!) and knowing you have to push really hard on cold tyres always makes for interesting handling.

So the theory is that being the only entrant in the slowest class I must surely come last? Well I pushed hard in practice and was ahead of 5 cars ( I was hoping the pressure would make them make a mistake in their timed run). Of the 5 cars I was quicker in practice there was one 911 GT3 and one single seater as well as an MX5, Saxo and 205 from modified production with roll cages etc.

Naturally this wasn't going to last and in the end I only ended up quicker than 2 cars. However both were from faster classes so I wasn't too despondent. In fact although the rules state there must be 3 in your class to gain a prize I actually left with the class winner trophy as I was alone in 1.6 Standard!

I won't be campaigning the Fiat seriously but as a way to engage with fellow sprinters and have fun it did the job (helped on by it's new Bilstein shocks which are on offer (I bought these cheap about 2 years ago and finally got round to installing them).

If any of you want a copy of the timesheet please email me.