A bright and breezy day greeted the Ferrari Owners’ Club for their
annual track day on the full Brands Hatch GP Circuit, one of a
number of track days they organise at various circuits around the
country during the year. The event was well supported by club
members, some of whom were en route to the Le Mans 24 Hour
Race the following weekend, and had support from Hill
Engineering and Kent High Performance Cars. Around seventy
Ferraris partook in the gathering, ranging from a 365 GTB/4
“Daytona” to a pair of 599 GTB Fioranos, whilst there was a pair
of Californias in the paddock, and they also ranged from standard
road models to race prepared examples that run in the UK Ferrari
Challenge series. A particular racing rarity was a 456 GT,
prepared by Foskers, an independent Ferrari specialist based at
Brands Hatch, which looked quite spectacular in black with a
colourful ”Cavallino Rampante” and chequered livery.
The club’s normal track day procedure is to split the circuit
sessions into three groups, which is based upon the participant’s
skills or track experience. Therefore there is a novice grouped,
with skilled instructors on hand to ride with them to advise on the
correct lines, track procedure, braking points, etc. The second
group is for those with previous track day knowledge and
experience, whilst the third is for those with plentiful track
experience, including having raced at some level. The aim of this
arrangement is to have cars of similar speed, and drivers of
similar capability, on the track at any one time. This allows
newcomers to concentrate on the road ahead rather than their
rear view mirrors, and also means that the faster and more
experienced drivers aren’t constantly meeting “mobile chicanes”.
As they say, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”, and the
system can be said to be a success, as it is very rare for
incidents to occur at any of their gatherings, particularly ones of
any serious consequence, thus making for a well organised and
enjoyable track day for all concerned.
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