| Given the success of previous camping events, the No-Rice boys gave this year’s GTI Festival an added twist by heading up to the Pod during Saturday for a night under the canvas (as well as some Aerobie and a few beers!). |
| We had agreed to meet up down the M1, and I was running a few minutes late… but as I rolled in, it was good to see the Workshy guys, as well as Crownan & Micky. After some welcoming banter, we set off. The usual, barely legal, convoying japes ensued as we headed northwards, trusting our route to Pompey’s sat nav… |
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| …Which turned out to be a bit of a faux pas as it guided us on some mad cross-country jaunt, leaving Pola & Slugga sailing on up the motorway to the usual Newport-Pagnell exit. Still, we managed to find a local Tescos to purchase the camping essentials. Cate then jumped into the racer for the final leg of the journey, including some fun in the back-turnings outside Poddington. |
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| Once we all safely arrived and pitched-up, the beers began to flow and the BBQs were lit. Crownan & Micky showed off their skills with the Aerobie, then, when we all knackered, Micky showed us the ridiculously wide 6R4 rims he’d brought up to flog. I was in love with them, but feared they may be a tad impractical for everyday road use - hehe! |
| Later on, Ant & Gemm arrived, along with Mike to complete the camping contingent. We all settled in for the night with good banter and the occasional text message between tents! |
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| Soon enough though, Sunday morning arrived, and we took advantage of being the first at the show by staking our claims to the best stands for our respective clubs. Luckily for me, J29 reinforcements showed up fairly early too, with Nicki coming from her overnight stay in Bedford. Others rolled in too, including James (Sir Dusty of Mauve) sporting a very impressive hangover! |
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| I must admit to not seeing all that much of the show away from the J29/NR stands (and the Pukka Pie van) as I was determined to get the Racer onto the hallowed tarmac and do some measured quarters. As I nervously approached the starting line, with the idle playing up as normal, I glanced across to Mike, in his standard-ish mk2 8v and wondering if the weight saving in my red golf had been worthwhile… |
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| When the lights went green I let the clutch up and we were away. Sadly I was still on the crappy thin 13s so grip was limited at best. However, after traction was established, the car pulled very strongly. Happily I got all my gear-changes in correctly and I could no longer see Mike alongside me! Across the line I went to record a 16.2 second run. This was to be improved throughout the day to a almost-flat 16.0 but I couldn’t get under that. Maybe with better wheels next-time… |
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| As is now traditional at Santa Pod events, all the NR peeps headed for a hearty pub-dinner. We compared pod-burn, told stories of missing trainers and all went home happy. |
| Words by Tris, pictures by Pola. |