Guy
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2002
- Messages
- 790
- Location
- Manchester
- Car
- Maserati Quattroporte : Brabus A200CDi D3 : E300TDT
Billy picked my son & me up at 7.15 on Sunday morning in his CL55, and drove us down to MIRA. There was hardly any traffic on the M6, but what little there was, was dealt with by Billy’s Distronic system.
‘Distronic’ can be set to a distance of your choice. When you come up against a slower moving vehicle, (and you would, wouldn’t you, in Billy’s CL55?) its speed is displayed on the speedometer, so you can see the difference and distance, and see them change. If you don’t pull out by the chosen distance, it slows your car appropriately. _If you ignore the system, and start tailgating, it eventually provides an audible warning.
On arrival at MIRA you have to sign an undertaking that you do not have a camera. As we both did, we signed, but didn’t use them. This is because manufacturers use MIRA by for testing barely disguised mules. They seem to respect one another’s desire for confidentiality. It was pretty clear that anyone breaching the rules wouldn’t be there very long – so no pics, I’m afraid.
We were first there, and were pleased to see that in the car park outside the AMG building there were –
2 x C32,
C32T
SLK32
S55
CLK55
SL55
Once inside we were greeted with tea, coffee and bacon rolls and a bunch of very friendly Instructors. In total there were 9 participants, and at least as many Instructors.
The morning began with wet track instruction. We were taken off to a huge roundabout with a variety of different surfaces, each providing a different level of grip, from good to Ice. (Viewed from above, it would look like a bulls-eye type target). The challenge was to spin the car with ESP on – impossible, but Billy had a bloody good go. With the ESP off, it was great fun, they taught us to balance the car, so we can now circle a roundabout indefinitely, on opposite lock.
During the morning we all got in the SLK32 with Don Palmer, to have the c**p frightened out of us, as he drove it at insane speeds, ESP on and off, round a really tight track. If anyone of us thought we were good after mastering balancing the car on opposite lock on the roundabout, here was a reminder of what a real racer can do. He chatted like he was in a traffic jam while doing it, too!
After lunch, it was a mixture of road and track with Police advanced driving Instructors. Great blokes, real enthusiasts as well as ace drivers, and just as unimpressed as the rest of us with the placement/use of certain cameras!
Billy got the SL55! What a noise – and that was just Billy whooping with excitement. It’s a fantastic sound the car makes too. I’ll let him tell you what he thought of it.
Once back at the track, the sight of Billy hammering down towards the wet section, and getting the SL55 into a double 360 spin on the water, was something I wish you could all have seen… memorable.
We went out in the new CLK55 – lovely car, definitely not as quick as the C32, but still very fast. It really comes home to you HOW fast, when you’re in the back, and your son is hammering it up to a tight left hander at 80mph, being egged on by the Instructor!
Guys, if you ever get the chance, you’ve got to do this…
Many thanks to Billy, for driving us there and back, and particularly for leaving the ESP ON, on the way home.
:bannana: :bannana: :bannana: :bannana:
‘Distronic’ can be set to a distance of your choice. When you come up against a slower moving vehicle, (and you would, wouldn’t you, in Billy’s CL55?) its speed is displayed on the speedometer, so you can see the difference and distance, and see them change. If you don’t pull out by the chosen distance, it slows your car appropriately. _If you ignore the system, and start tailgating, it eventually provides an audible warning.
On arrival at MIRA you have to sign an undertaking that you do not have a camera. As we both did, we signed, but didn’t use them. This is because manufacturers use MIRA by for testing barely disguised mules. They seem to respect one another’s desire for confidentiality. It was pretty clear that anyone breaching the rules wouldn’t be there very long – so no pics, I’m afraid.
We were first there, and were pleased to see that in the car park outside the AMG building there were –
2 x C32,
C32T
SLK32
S55
CLK55
SL55
Once inside we were greeted with tea, coffee and bacon rolls and a bunch of very friendly Instructors. In total there were 9 participants, and at least as many Instructors.
The morning began with wet track instruction. We were taken off to a huge roundabout with a variety of different surfaces, each providing a different level of grip, from good to Ice. (Viewed from above, it would look like a bulls-eye type target). The challenge was to spin the car with ESP on – impossible, but Billy had a bloody good go. With the ESP off, it was great fun, they taught us to balance the car, so we can now circle a roundabout indefinitely, on opposite lock.
During the morning we all got in the SLK32 with Don Palmer, to have the c**p frightened out of us, as he drove it at insane speeds, ESP on and off, round a really tight track. If anyone of us thought we were good after mastering balancing the car on opposite lock on the roundabout, here was a reminder of what a real racer can do. He chatted like he was in a traffic jam while doing it, too!
After lunch, it was a mixture of road and track with Police advanced driving Instructors. Great blokes, real enthusiasts as well as ace drivers, and just as unimpressed as the rest of us with the placement/use of certain cameras!
Billy got the SL55! What a noise – and that was just Billy whooping with excitement. It’s a fantastic sound the car makes too. I’ll let him tell you what he thought of it.
Once back at the track, the sight of Billy hammering down towards the wet section, and getting the SL55 into a double 360 spin on the water, was something I wish you could all have seen… memorable.
We went out in the new CLK55 – lovely car, definitely not as quick as the C32, but still very fast. It really comes home to you HOW fast, when you’re in the back, and your son is hammering it up to a tight left hander at 80mph, being egged on by the Instructor!
Guys, if you ever get the chance, you’ve got to do this…
Many thanks to Billy, for driving us there and back, and particularly for leaving the ESP ON, on the way home.
:bannana: :bannana: :bannana: :bannana:
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