Anniversary of Z in Spa-Classic 2019

johnymd

johnymd

Club Member
Yep. A great time and great company. I've really missed not going to Spa the last few years and it was really good to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. Car survived the journey and track time very well with no issues other than a few slightly loose bolts causing a knock from the back end. I was a bit nervous of taking such a new build on track but it performed really (despite serious lack of power and the 3.36 diff). Took it easy and gradually built up the speed through the corners when I gained more confidence in it. Stepped over the limits of traction and braking a few times but no real dramas. I took pouhon a bit too quick on a couple of occasions and made use of the runoff. Eau Rouge with no braking and just a small lift after entry. The AD08r's are great although not up to the grip level of R888r's. Suspension was very good for the price and a bit of track fun but not up with the likes of GAZ and higher priced suspension. The car really needs a 3.9 diff and enough HP to let it rev in top for this circuit but great fun was had just the same.
 
Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
I really enjoyed the second half of the video John. I wonder what tyres the BMW was on?

Yep gearing was 'long' but the car went well and sounded lovely.
 
MaximG

MaximG

Well-Known Forum User
Had a fantastic time well worth the the trip. The company was great, accommodation was spot on. Thanks to everyone involved in organising. Will deffinately look to go again.
 
johnymd

johnymd

Club Member
It's really annoying when you look back at a video and keep saying to yourself "why didn't I just go for the gaps", "why didn't I pass the 3 cars into Eau Rouge", "why did I let the 2 BMW's go past in the first place". I got very frustrated watching the video as I was way quicker through the bends but just not enough to pass without really cutting them up. Having been banned once before I tended to hold back quit a bit plus in my defence, I have not driven the car much and it was its first track session.
 
Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
chrisvega said:
29 minutes in and I'm still waiting for you to make a move on that BMW 318 :p
Click to expand...

They go well these old 318s ha ha. It rolled like hell but stuck.

You were sensible enough not to do anything silly and at one time the Eau Rouge/Raidillion section at the top of the brow could have got messy if you had kept your foot down like Matt wanted (Silver BMW passing a brown car I think).

Did you have to wear a moustache and beard this year?
 
johnymd

johnymd

Club Member
I'm used to those types of comments from Matt now so my brain tends to filter them out. I've no idea how powerful those 528i's are but when the 2 guys came over for a chat they were a little disappointed when I told them just how low I thought my power was. I would say Matt was probably pretty close with his 130hp estimate. Although the car does feel a lot quick with just me in it.
 
Sylv1

Sylv1

Well-Known Forum User
I love the look of your new Z John!

And seeing you both Mat & You when on track made my day

Always big smiles, chatting and large gestures in the car is fun to see from the outside

You obviously enjoyed :)


Thanks all for coming

I didn't have lot of time to chat with everybody but really a good we
 
Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Sylv1 said:
I love the look of your new Z John!

And seeing you both Mat & You when on track made my day

Always big smiles, chatting and large gestures in the car is fun to see from the outside

You obviously enjoyed :)


Thanks all for coming

I didn't have lot of time to chat with everybody but really a good we
Click to expand...

I see your car is as quick as ever Sylvain. I'm hoping to be back soon - Andrew Muir and I were talking about it at Donington.
 
johnymd

johnymd

Club Member
The car was great fun but I will return with better gearing and engine. Maybe not up to the mighty rebello but a lot better than I had this year.
 
Rob Gaskin

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Superb 'lines' Sylvain, you know the circuit well. No smokey breather or distributor problems this year!
 
Woody928

Woody928

Events Officer
Staff member
Club Member
Well I've been a bit slow on getting on here as there's just been too much going on since getting home at 11pm on Sunday evening.

I will echo what everyone has already said, what a fabulous weekend! Having neither me or my dad ever having been to Spa before we were quite excited to see what all the fuss was about, and what a track! We were quite taken away by the elevation changes having taken the time to walk the whole circuit on Saturday.

Thank you to all those who made the journey over, some great company with new and old friends, and nice to have 6 Z's convoying together at times. Really impressive turnout, and good to meet some of our European neighbours. I certainly plan to go back and would like to do some proper track sessions, the only one I did get on ended up with a safety car which ruined it and kept teasing at what we could be doing....

A big thank you for Sylvain for organising and Datsun France for hosting us, no small feat having that many cars together in one place!

Anyway, some of the very few pics I took for you to look at. I really must get some rolling shots like these of my car sometime, just a shame the sun was on the wrong side for best lighting!

DSC_1532 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

DSC_1536 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

DSC_1540 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

DSC_1543 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

DSC_1553 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

DSC_1590 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

DSC_1567 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

DSC_1585 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

DSC_1604 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_0322 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

DSC_1607 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr
 
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