I have never driven the hill in the wet. Ever. That changed tonight. Driving through Armadale the wipers couldn’t keep up with the utter downpour. I was running late (due to selling a car but giving the new owner a spare key to my new car rather than the one he was buying! In my defence I did own four Toyota’s) and I think that downpour was probably during the first runs/briefing time.
Highlights included not crashing, lovely cups of tea and seeing the fun on the faces of some friends I have managed to convince to join the club and drive the hill for the first time.
Having attended various evening fun/track nights over the last few years it was great to get a chance to run up the hill without being blinded by the sun running up along the wall into the top hairpin (due to the lunchtime start). And it was sunny. At times!
Low light was when I thought I could get away with one more run without the roof on because it had only just started to drizzle. There followed a huge downpour. (It’s OK, with the heater on full the car dried out quite quickly and I got a cuppa).
The track dried out very quickly (as did the drivers) due to the wind and the cars running up. And it was great to see such a variety of cars again – that was a quick Hyundai.
I grew up around Triumphs and had a Dutton kit car early on. But am currently a sucker for ‘modern classics’ like the T Sport Celica, TT’s, RX8’s etc. And they currently offer such value for what you get. So its always nice to see what turns up.
Overall the track was loads of fun to drive in the wet, giving you a chance to see some corners at a slower pace. And as it dried out it was good to see where the grip was. I really enjoyed it. And will be back for more next year.
Graeme Steele
Hope you like the photogallery below courtesy of George Dow and Graeme Steele
