Andy665

The day was £799 - not cheap but you got great tuition, guaranteed very small group - it was actually worth every penny Of the 8 there today, one had just bought a new DB9 and wanted to get to grips with how to get the best out of it whilst driving someone elses car, two flew in from Norway and three came from Switzerland

.....often thought of getting one of these fabricated in highly polished alloy - would need some work to get right but am sure it would be achievable - anyone done anything similar??

Spent today at Prestwold Hall with my other half for her Ultimate Track Day. Arrived at 9am and went straight into a briefing, then out on track: 5 laps in new Impreza STi's with instructors driving 5 laps in the same with her driving 4 laps each in: 996 Turbo 550 Maranello New XK8 DB9 Lunch 5 circuits of a gravel rally stage in a LHD Group N Polo 4 more laps in each of the mornings cars again Additional laps in the Imprezas for those who wanted them Hot laps with the instructors All drinks, food were free all day, only 8 people allowed for this particular day so very relaxed, superb instructors Wifes thoughts on the cars were interesting, amazingly similar to what I think of them but clearly I've not had the benefit of driving them (yet) 996 Turbo - massively fast but felt very clinical - no character at all 550 Maranello - a lot easier to drive than she thought it would be - she was the only one of the group who mastered the manual box New XK8 - superb exhaust note, very easy to drive quickly and much more impressive than she thought it would be DB9 - favourite by a mile, it felt really special to drive and was very chuckable in the corners and quick, she was reaching 150 at the end of the straight The organisers website is http://www.everymanracing.co.uk, from what I saw today I was very impressed

Looks superb

An awesome exhaust note too, especially in French tunnels

Just like at the window lines and you'll see that they are identical

Think you'll find that its a Mercedes C-Class Sport Coupe with the Corrado rear lights

Good to see its OK, might have to weigh up the pro's and cons of getting all my policies switched

Porsche, Samsung - whoever - the sad fact is that the majority of people who work for companies regard the product as nothing more than that. I can count the number of car enthusiasts who work for Volkswagen on the fingers of one hand. I wouldn't fall into the trap of automatically assuming that working for Porsche is better than Samsung or anyone else - go to the interview, if you get offered a position weigh up whats best for you and run with it

Often given thought to this: Alfa SZ - 25k Golf MK4 R32 - 16k Mercedes ML63 - 75k 993 - 25k RS4 Avant - 60k 928 GTS - 20k E Type series 1 1/2 4.2 - 60k 350Z convertible - 30k Citroen C6 V6 TDi - 35k Alfa 8C - 100k Brooke Double R 300 - 38k Mustang GT500 - 50k Corrado G60 (rebuilt) - 25k

Thats the kind of car that strikes the perfect balance in my book

A clean and well presented car always carries more weight than a flash car, I've had friends lose business because they have turned up in too flash a car, never seen anyone lose business of a not flash enough car. My MD hates me driving a 15 year old Corrado but client reaction has been 99% positive

My toothed belt drive has been on for just over 12 months with absolutely no issues at all, I'm also running a solid tensioner

My Aqua G60 has run mainly Tesco normal unleaded with no problems whatsoever for most of the last 30k miles. My Nugget G60 hates normal unleaded and seems to need Optimax / Ultimate / V-Power etc, guess its a case of it being more modified

Very, very nice - it often seems that Autos are cleaner

I hope I never need to sell my Nugget, I'm sure the Aqua G60 will go at some point, hopefully when the new Scirocco arrives

I got a quote with all mods declared with no problem at all - it certainly surprised me

You can have as many cars on the policy as you want - seems like a good idea but all four of my cars have their insurance renewal dates spread out

We were out for 17 days - I love driving in Italy, drivers there are quick and decisive, the typical German seems to be quick and stupid. I always seemed to be averaging far higher speeds in Italy than anywhere else. I took some average speeds yesterday for the journey back: Italy - averaged 93mph Switzerland - averaged 86mph Germany - averaged 63mph Belgium / France - averaged 87mph Next year we're going to drive down through France and hop over the Alps near Turin and miss out Germany all together

Thats another trip to Italy out of the way, highlights: Spa and Nurburgring on the way down - German Ferrari Festival on at the Ring so lots to look at Italian Grand Prix - crap race but superb atmosphere as always Imola - always nice to go and pay respects to Senna - managed to weedle a couple of laps in a 997 Carrera S while I was there Ferrar Galleria - much better now its been extended Fiorano - lots of last minute testing going on before the Italian Grand Prix and managed to get a good vantage point on the bridge Lamborghini museum - awesome but forgot to take the camera Did other things whilst other there, Venice, Milan, Verona Did remind me of a few things I'd forgotten: German autobahns and driving standards are CRAP Switzerland must have more roadworks on motorways than any other country in the world Italian driving and the Autostrada are superb Great trip back yesterday, left at 6am and was home by 11pm - 1080 miles, averaged 70mph including fuel and comfort breaks, waits at the Swiss border crossings and the St Gotthard tunnel etc but not including the time waiting for the shuttle. Just about to book for next year

From the pics I have seen I'd not be surprised if it looked very close to the concept, externally anyway. When I worked with Ford, I often saw the Strretka concept - when you got up close to it it was obvious it was handbuilt, the quality just wasn't there, the finish on the IROC makes me think the tooling has been signed off - perhaps Jim or Tempest could enlighten us

Madeley Testing Centre Madeley Service Station/Ironbridge Rd Telford, Madeley, TF7 5JU 01952 580558 Had three cars MOT'd there and they have been spot on - any work quoted for has been done on time and never a penny more than quoted for

Very nice looking Rado you have there - be interested to see some pics of the interior

Not sure to be honest, will know more when I pick them up in early October

They currently sit behind 16" Compomotive MO's, I'm running 17" so I would be surprised if I encounter problems, the price I paid neans I'd easily get my money back if they don't fit anyway