Snetterton - awesome

I couldn't sleep on Monday night - I was so excited about driving both a Gallardo and F430 on track which I've never done before...

In the morning we had a rain-soaked track which in hindsight turned out to be great for honing your technique because mistakes are punished more severely, and towards mid-day the rain stopped and the track dried out - it felt just like being in the Melbourne F1 - even with a few Massa-like spins throw in from some of the members - you know who you are!

Best of all, due to the inclement weather forecast, there weren't many other people which meant there were only about 15 cars on track at any time.

Personally, the first instructor's session with Colin was super useful and I really improved my driving although with no sleep the night before I was totally wiped out by mid-afternoon.

Thanks to Paul Williams for posting his photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pcw/sets/72157623612964873/ and for this quote "Thanks for a great day yesterday - although I think we all missed out on some track time because of the weather...it was really good having the Trackfocused guys teach us a lot of good skills, and great to drive that little Exige, the awesome Porsche and the F430!"

Next é25 Motorsport is scheduled for 12th May at Oulton Park - reputedly one of the toughest circuits in the UK - we'll definitely have the 430, Boxster Cup and Exige S there plus hopefully a Radicle if I can arrange it.

2010 Formula 1 - boring or not?

I know F1 has come-in for its usual stick about being boring again this year. With the lack of refueling limiting the options for the teams and the now regular legal dispuates about diffusers - I generally agreed with this view until yesterday...but after watching the Melbourne race my opinion has changed.

Jenson Button was able to drive 4/5ths of the race on the same set of tyres and still post the best lap times of the race in the dying stages - contrast that with his stablemate who burnt through his fresh set of tyres in about 7 laps during his dastardly attempt to crawl back to his lost third place.

I previously thought Button was a bit of a wimp, who only ever enjoyed success because of a technical loophole, and that Hamilton was a real tiger behind the wheel, but these new rules bring back another dimension to racing - Driver Efficiency - which also puts more emphasis back on the driver's skill which I think is a good thing.

Tomorrow I'm off to Snetterton for our first é25 Motorsport event of the year - I've never been behind the wheel of a Gallardo on a track before but I'll try to keep driver efficiency foremost in my thoughts and not just blast that pocket rocket to its top speed as aggressively as possible!

7 days to go...

Surrey is opening in 7 days, so I thought I would give my avid readers a sneak preview of what's going on...

James Murfin and Michael Roberts are the joint proprietors of the branch. James is the pretty one on the left! James is a serial entrepreneur with businesses mostly in technology, and Michael has a track record in car leasing and has an interest in a race team - more of that later.

For those who want to mystery shop, the branch is located 26a Lyon Road, Hersham, Surrey KT12 2PU, but P1 fans should resist posting on PH that there are no cars there until next week.

Shown here is where the cars will be stored...

and the members' lounge doesn't look like much either at the moment but some comfy chairs, some plants and some e25 posters can do wonders for your interior designs.

New e25

Its been 6 months in the planning but the e25 branding is getting refreshed.

We did a new calendar at the start of the year, there's a new website on the way, and a new e25 Magazine - the first in over 18 months. But the latest instalment is a new Head Office...

I've mentioned our Park Lane facility a few times in my blog, but from next week it will be fully operational all neatly dressed with our new frontage.

Working from Head Office will be the Marketing and Events team, and the Franchise support team, and me! And the location doubles as a complimentary vehicle collection/drop-off point for those for whom the West End is more convenient.

It's just at the bottom of the entry slip road to the Park Lane car park; 5 minutes walk from either Marble Arch or Hyde Park - pop in if you are passing through and we'll take you to the Dorchester for a coffee!

Surrey - opening at the end of this month - it's official

One of my member's Matt gave me a real dressing down yesterday for not keeping my blog up to date. It's nice to know I have a few avid readers.

Truth is, the past few weeks have not been so newsworthy. Last week I was supposed to attend an R8 Spyder preview event but due to torrential rain I got stuck in gridlock and had to give up on it.

Anyway, its old news for my blog, but I am pleased to confirm that Surrey is all firmed up and ready to go. We've found a better location now in Hersham - equidistant from Esher and Woking and still close to the station.

The club will officially be open for bookings from March 29th with the Ferrari 599, Aston Martin DBS, Ferrari California, Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder and Maserati Quattroporte. We're doing a Founder Members Offer of a free weekend in the 599 and priority bookings on new cars for the first 10 members, although there are only 5 of these left.

With the sun shining brightly as I write this, it looks like we could even sell out the Founder Offer before the club even opens its doors which would be an amazing first.

More photos of the site and details on the Launch Party once its finalised.