The Curborough Sprint course is described as “the Premier Speed Event venue in the UK”  We’re not talking wide track flowing bends here but a short, tight, narrow “go kart” track where a “lap” takes about 30 seconds!

Robbie, Jon and Ken signed on to drive in the MX-5 Owners Club annual Curborough event, and yours truly went along to spectate.  A couple of different track configurations were used during the day with the first an anticlockwise lap followed by a clockwise lap.  This initially proved tricky for one unnamed driver so on his second attempt I donned a spare crash helmet and helped with the navigation.  Ken made a fairly slow and steady start but by the end of the day he was squealing the tyres around the tight bends with the best of them. 

Jon despite only having had a replacement engine and new suspension finished a day or so before decided his car had been run in long enough on the way up and then really went for it on the track.  Jon’s first run saw the tail of the car squirming as he came out of the cone chicane which was pretty spectacular but his best (or worst) moment came late in the day when he lost the back end and went straight up the grass bank at The Molehill Bend, with the car then landing back on the track on two wheels, at which point the boot popped open!  Very spectacular and it got several of us rushing back to the pits to see what the damage was and to offer Jon a lift home!.  Well apart from some very minor damage to the lip spoiler the car survived unscathed, much to everyone’s relief. 

Owning a sports car is about driving and this was what the day at Curborough was all about.  The chance to unleash your car and go play….   Will I be going again? Oh yes, will I be actually driving next year? Oh yes, yes…  bring it on….   

For a slightly chilled out look at some of the action check out the video here;

http://www.oldcarstuff.co.uk/ddt57/Curborough320x240.wmv

Martin Curtis ©