peppernick
Active Member
My Bank holiday weekend started with a rendevous with my friend Durgesh and his 997 Turbo at Jonathan Palmer's playground.
Not many CLK350s are destined for such a life, but since this one landed on my hands, it will be used as intended, or more appropriately, as I intend it
I had the only Merc at Bedford today ....... no surprise. Even the attendant at the fuel pump said he hadn't seen a three pointed star gracing the Palmer race grounds since he started working there 7 months ago.
The CLK350 is fast enough to excite, yet slow enough to frustrate. More straight line grunt is desired, but I shall continue to resist the temptation of a 55, or even a 63! Cliche had it that a Mercedes and fast corners don't normally mix well, but I was surprised by how well my CLK tackled the bends. In fact, it was actually very good! The H&R springs and the fatter tyres definitely helped; probably also helped by the lighter V6 up front and the very 'civilised' power delivery. The stopping power of the Brembos was a major advantage, as I could brake as late as 50-70 yards forward of the 'BRAKE' signs dotted around the curcuit, consistently, and without any brake fade.
It was truely a superb day out. Today's meeting was organised by Motorsportvision, part of palmersport.com; and as such, the event was very well executed. Extremely professional but not the cheapest around at £225 for the day. However, the high price of the event saw a more selective group of attendants, less prangs, and some top notch machines.
The Bedford Autodrome is still one of the best tracks to learn your track driving. Plenty of run off and good spread of technical portions, long straights and fast sweepers.
Can be hard on the tyres though. The rubber didn't just wear out, it melted
The Falken FK-452s I have on the car are absolutely brilliant! Not only did they grip, they also let go very progressively. I found it very easy to place the car where I wanted it even at times when a slight sideway 'drift' was incoporated into the forward motion. Thoroughly recommend them.
At 5pm, the chequered flag fell. I burned 95 litres of fuel today, front tyres probably need replacing, but left the Autodrome with a big grin ...
Not many CLK350s are destined for such a life, but since this one landed on my hands, it will be used as intended, or more appropriately, as I intend it
I had the only Merc at Bedford today ....... no surprise. Even the attendant at the fuel pump said he hadn't seen a three pointed star gracing the Palmer race grounds since he started working there 7 months ago.
The CLK350 is fast enough to excite, yet slow enough to frustrate. More straight line grunt is desired, but I shall continue to resist the temptation of a 55, or even a 63! Cliche had it that a Mercedes and fast corners don't normally mix well, but I was surprised by how well my CLK tackled the bends. In fact, it was actually very good! The H&R springs and the fatter tyres definitely helped; probably also helped by the lighter V6 up front and the very 'civilised' power delivery. The stopping power of the Brembos was a major advantage, as I could brake as late as 50-70 yards forward of the 'BRAKE' signs dotted around the curcuit, consistently, and without any brake fade.
It was truely a superb day out. Today's meeting was organised by Motorsportvision, part of palmersport.com; and as such, the event was very well executed. Extremely professional but not the cheapest around at £225 for the day. However, the high price of the event saw a more selective group of attendants, less prangs, and some top notch machines.
The Bedford Autodrome is still one of the best tracks to learn your track driving. Plenty of run off and good spread of technical portions, long straights and fast sweepers.
Can be hard on the tyres though. The rubber didn't just wear out, it melted
The Falken FK-452s I have on the car are absolutely brilliant! Not only did they grip, they also let go very progressively. I found it very easy to place the car where I wanted it even at times when a slight sideway 'drift' was incoporated into the forward motion. Thoroughly recommend them.
At 5pm, the chequered flag fell. I burned 95 litres of fuel today, front tyres probably need replacing, but left the Autodrome with a big grin ...
