Gravel Test at Walter's Arena

To say I feel incredibly lucky is an understatement. I had Walter's arena to myself for the day, with Ben from WB Motorsport on tools and 3x British Rally Champion Matt Edwards giving Gravel Tuition for the day in the Yellow Mini.

It was absolutely baking out, at least 35 degrees C - which made the surface of the stages dry and dusty. We soon found out just how dusty it was on the first few laps, the car really was chucking up dust everywhere and it just didn't seem to settle back down again very quickly. This firmly capped us at about 3 laps per stage as the dust was unbearable. 

Matt is an incredible driver, and just as great a teacher - he could immediately see from 2 or 3 laps what needed improving, and from there we got to work! The main point of concern was my positioning on the road in the gravel. My pace was fine and so was my breaking, but Matt was keen to get me to learn to position the car by being aware of the road in front of me, listening carefully to pace notes and to be patient getting round the tighter corners before getting back on the power. 

I was picking up pace quickly throughout the day, and Matt advised I do a solo drive to consolidate what I had picked up so far in the day, and to do my own thinking in the car without him there (I knew the stages by heart at this point so no longer needed a Nav anyway). I was really becoming one with the car and the car and I were flowing smoothly through the stages. My exhaust fell off over one of the jumps, but I think that actually gave me some more power (certainly made more noise!)

I was back in service then, doing a check over with Ben and getting ready to go back out with Matt, where we noticed the Shock absorbers on the front of the car didn't have any travel at all. The dampers had seized in the heat, making the car near impossible to drive on the bumpy roads. It cut our day short, but I still picked up so much from Matt, so I can only thank him for his tuition and also Ben from WB motorsport for making this happen! No more drives in the Mini challenge this year, I have an Autosolo or two planned in a Caterham and may do some co-driving towards the end of the year, but my next proper drive is likely to be next year/season.