Darley Moor Practice day - March & April 2022
891 days later we finally made it back to a race track...Darley Moor race track to be precise!
Over the past few weeks CAUC has partnered with Darley Moor Motorsport Centre in order to prepare for the fast approaching season. Both sessions where complete and utter chaos as we experienced tyre punctures, accelerator issues and allowed the newbies to drive for the first time.
Day 1 got off to a good start as we had a morning debrief to check people knew what the plan was for the day. Here the newbies learned who they would be following out on track in order to learn some very important driving lines, which they will use throughout their time driving. During debriefing, like f1 drivers, we held a track walk so everyone could get a feel for how tight corners were before being sent on track. However, when we finally sent team members on track, we soon learned Dylan’s accelerator needed fixing as it didn’t stop accelerating. Unbeknown to us, we had created our own driverless car!!!
Throughout a race day we use coms as a form of communication between the drivers and telemetry, so it was vital that we got these working. Nevertheless, like Dylan’s accelerator they didn’t want to work due to signal issues across the track.
Back in pits Ellie, Lucy, Phoebe, Darcey and Katy spent their lunch time racing on scooters provided by parents and dancing to various songs.
Overall, day 1 was a chance for the whole team to get back into the swing of racing and give newbies a taste of what the new season will bring.
Day 2 was just as chaotic as day one, filled with driving, punctures and many cups of tea. Like day 1 we started with a track walk to familiarise ourselves with the track once again after three weeks in the workshop and on holiday. During this track walk, Jane decided to familiarise herself with the track by riding around on a bike waving to us as she lapped us.
Before sending anyone on track Yazmin learned how to check the tracking on Basil, to check if the wheels were towing in or out.
While basil was getting a bit of tlc we noticed Dylan’s accelerator needed fixing once again, however this was a reasonably quick fix as we had previously learned what needed to be done at the previous track day.
Once the cars were fixed they were sent out for practice, however soon enough newbie Lil did the famous CAUC move and popped her first tyre. So of course we had to put the tyre around her head and snap a quick photo.
Thank you once again to Darley Moor for allowing us to use the track for not one but two track days, these allowed us to get back into the swing of racing and teach the new members of the team how to solve problems which often rock up on a race day.