RAF MARHAM Track Day - 22 and 23 April 2006

[mgmark]

As with the event I organised last year, I am organising another Charity Track Day weekend at RAF Marham, on 22/23 April – the last one was very successful and much enjoyed by all who came, so it would be foolish to miss it.   The track day weekend last year raised £6,000 and the funds raised from this one will again go the selected RAF Marham charities for this year – not entirely sure which they will be yet, but to give you an idea, last year they were the RAF Benevolent fund, Marham First Response Paramedic Team and the East Anglia Air Ambulance.
 
It is an ideal venue for a track day.   The airfield's main runway is one and a half miles long and over 75 metres wide - dead straight, smooth tarmac - enormous fun driving it and plenty of distance to not only achieve terminal velocity, but to hold it there for as long as you wish as the end of the runway looms!   The aircraft taxiway, which connects the two ends of the runway, is a similar width and surface, and provides a further two and a half miles of uninterrupted tarmac, providing a proper full circuit of 4 miles in all.  As a whole, the shape is roughly triangular, but with the width of the runway and taxiway there is ample scope to create everything from sweeping curves to chicanes.   For those who came before, there will be some more curvy bits to add to the challenge.
           
Likely to run it to roughly the same timings as before, from around 1000 to 1600 on both days, with sessions of around 30 minutes (minimum of 6 sessions for all).   All the necessary facilities, such as toilets, catering, drinks, marshalling and medical cover to support the event are available, and given the distance that some had to travel to fill up with Optimax during the day last time, I am going to try and get Shell Optimax or BP Ultimate petrol available on the Station itself for the weekend.   The Station’s kart club will open its doors to visitors, and the Gliding Club will probably offer air experience flights again.  The event would be organised and run properly, with appropriate public liability cover for participants.

So, fellow members, gather together and exercise your steeds, classic or modern, in the way that was intended when they were built.   All this will be for the princely sum of around £60 on the Saturday and probably £40 for the Sunday as we will need to finish in tme for me to reinstate the aiorfield for use on the Monday morning!   Incredibly good value when you compare that to normal track day costs.   Everyone gets a good chunk of the time available – preferably as much as they want and the machinery will stand, but that will depend on how many cars there are in total.   No money needed yet, but what I really need to know now before I commit my time/effort again and get on with any further planning/organising, and provide more detail for the event is quite simply how many CA’ers would be sufficiently interested to go beyond the “great idea” response and actually participate?   

Please post your responses as part of this thread, but please keep the posts on topic and relatively brief at this stage.   Naturally, I am happy to answer questions about the event itself on this thread.

All the best for now,

MG Mark

[Dan Lowe]

Good news Mark    Count me in for both days.

For anyone wondering whether to do this or not, stop thinking and get your name down it's not to be missed!!

[Robbo SPS]

Mark.

Its the 24 hour bike weekend......

[Steve Pyro]

Mark, I'll circulate this to the usual East Anglian Cobra contingent.  Good news.

[Fran]

I would love to come along as "assistant" and take a room in the officer's mess for saturday night if there is space available after the serious drivers are booked in!  - will bring extra thermals next time tho - its a blimmin' cold wind that whips across the airfield!

[Robspot]

It's also St George's Day on the sunday. What's wrong with you, you're not Welsh are you?

[mgmark]

Sorry about the bike weekend and St George's Day - mind you in terms of the latter, I can't think of a better way of celebrating it!   Just had to fit the dates around other stuff like the Station programme, when all the volunteers on the Station can make it etc etc.   At least it isn't on the third weekend in June (whoch would make it a very quiet track day.....)

Steve - be good to see you and the Cobras there again.

BTW, same rules on needing a helmet, normal seat belts and a fire extinguisher will apply.   Fire extinguisher doesn't have to be a plumbed in system, a hand held is fine provided it is secured in the car.

MG Mark

[Rob]

definately count me in for both days!!!
i missed the one last year due to lack of car, and all the guys i spoke to had a whale of a time!!

[rcutler]

I will be there as a passenger and helper where needed. Same arrangements as Dan as I suspect we will travel up together again. Any chance of the officers mess again this year Mark?

[garyfrogeye]

Put me down for a Saturday please.
Do you want me to tell lots of other people or will you have more than enough from this board?

[mgmark]

definately count me in for both days!!!
i missed the one last year due to lack of car, and all the guys i spoke to had a whale of a time!!

Good - look forward to seeing you there.

I will be there as a passenger and helper where needed. Same arrangements as Dan as I suspect we will travel up together again. Any chance of the officers mess again this year Mark

Will see how we are doing in terms of Mess rooms nearer the time

Put me down for a Saturday please.
Do you want me to tell lots of other people or will you have more than enough from this board?

Will do.   I'll let you know about how we're doing on numbers in a week or so, once I have had the chance to get responsed of this forum and from the station personnel.

MG Mark

[Andy Zarse]

Mark, you can put me down for a place on the sunday. May well be two of us, advise you later.

No Commer this time, the new WRX needs "running in"!

[Bobblehat]

Bobblehat Racing would love to do this.........can we let you know near the time.

What are the regs regarding full on race cars?

[mgmark]

You can let me know nearer the time, but once I post up the application forms, those who have indicated definitie attendance will come already will get priority, after that it will be first come first served, until the numberds limit is reached.   Also there will be a cut-off point for applications, as I need to get all of the various details needed to enable people to get access to the Station, as people will not be able to pitch up on the day unannounced (well they can but they won't get in)

In terms of a race car, to a degree it will depend on what it is - if the performance differential between it and other stuff is so great as to be dangerous then probably not, but last year, bearing in mind we had a wide range of cars on the track, it is unlikely to be a problem.   Basic criteria is that if it is a road going car, then it must have a current MOT - if its a race car, it must be racing in a current MSA series with recent scrutineering documentation.

MG Mark

[Robspot]

Sorry about the bike weekend and St George's Day - mind you in terms of the latter, I can't think of a better way of celebrating it!   

I would love to come but the law dictates that my St George's Day celebrations take place as far from cars as possible. I still have a vivid memory of a friend being picked up by the Constabulary for dancing naked on the side of a dual carriageway during the anniversary of VE day.

We shall instead enjoy the day from many of Bournemouth's finest hostelries.