Astra H VXR Sprint

An eventful Saturday…..

Feb 21st. 2016
By mapw

Saturday’s trackday at Snetterton (20th February) was yet another enjoyable event. Great organisation by MSVT and the staff at the circuit.

Conditions were however tricky to say the least. It was dry and overcast upon arrival and overnight rain had left the circuit damp and the racing line was slippery and conditions too some getting used to. Even crossing over the dry line in the wet caused the rear to loose grip on occasion, with only one minor off onto the grass just after Riches. A drying track towards mid morning made it much easier and a reasonable dry line appeared.

Expected heavy rain at lunchtime was only an hour or so of light rain so it was back to using the wet line in the afternoon, on a much emptier circuit.

A mid morning alternator light after only a two or three sessions, brought that session to a premature close, the fault being a shredded multi-v belt. Strange considering it was an almost new Conti belt. Fitted a spare previously used Gates belt which sorted the issue getting the car back up and running, with no further issues for the rest of the day.

Other than a failed alternator belt, the car performed faultlessly all day. All in all another great day.

Trackday Snetterton 20 February 2015

Mar 8th. 2015
By mapw

It was great to get back out on track for the first time since November at the MVS Trackdays (www.msvtrackdays.com) organised track day at Snetterton on the fantastic 300 circuit. This was an outstandingly good value for money trackday at just £99 for the whole day, open pit lane.

For this trackday a few of us got together for the day sharing a couple of garages and between us we had four modified Astra VXRs and a modified Corsa VXR. Track conditions were damp for the morning session, which led to a few red flag stoppages due to unfortunate ‘offs’, but the car performed faultlessly as it thrives on damp/wet conditions. A dry line started to appear from mid-morning and for the afternoon the track was dry meaning grip improved greatly further enhancing the enjoyment of the day.

Pictures from the day by MSVT Photography.

Snetterton Trackday – 20 February 2015

First Trackday 2015

Feb 13th. 2015
By mapw

This year’s first trackday is booked for Friday 20th February at Snetterton, another MSV Trackdays organised event on the 300 circuit.

Photos will follow.

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MSV Trackdays . Trackday . Trackday 2015

Trackday Snetterton 22 November 2014

Nov 23rd. 2014
By mapw

The MVS Trackdays (www.msvtrackdays.com) organised track day at Snetterton was a fantastic day. The weather varied between almost dry, drizzle and moderate rain throughout the day and track conditions varied from damp to wet, making driving conditions a little more challenging but still very enjoyable.

It also meant that the car wasn’t given quite such a hard time and it kept temperatures down. It was obviously harder to get heat into the tyres, meaning starting with higher pressures, but it also meant they were not subject to overheating. Speeds were slightly lower and reduced grip meant braking had to be smoother but progressive meaning that brake temperatures were lower and cornering speeds were also slower. Overall this also kept gearbox oil temperatures lower and the water temperature didn’t go above 90 on track due to everything being worked less and not put under as much stress.

The wet conditions meant that the usual ‘dry’ lines were abandoned in favour of ‘wet’ lines meaning searching for grip off the usual lines round the corners where more grip was available, keeping away from the apexes and braking slightly offline where more grip exists. Overall the Nankang NS-2R tyres performed faultlessly, gave excellent grip levels and offered a lot of confidence given the conditions and far outperformed their price point.

So the last track day of the year for me, now heading for the closed season giving some time for a few more improvements to be carried out. Counting down to the first planned track day of 2015 in February.

Image courtesy of Torque Photography: