Road trips

It was an eventful trip over, all good fun with an amazing level of commadery. The weather could not have been better, petrol was cheaper, the food was better, the routes were amazing and we stopped of at places like the A1 Ring in Austria and Spa in Belgium, went Jet Boating, skiing and even on a Schnitzel hunt..oh, and let's not mention ending up in Russia by accident! Memories never to be forgotten.

The trackday itself was perhaps the best any of us had been on. Not only did we get the treat of an excellent drivers track, but also there were never anymore than 10 of us on the track. On average we must have done 300 miles that day! Later on that year, we again indulged ourselves at Croix-en-Ternois, which is just a stones throw from Calais. Again, the weather was perfect and a great day was had by all in 2001.

Next up we became the first (and still only) UK based track day organiser to tackle Italian red-tape and host a trip to and trackday at IMOLA, the home of the San Marino F1GP. The setting was one of best yet as we enjoyed Italian hospitality and more European mountain roads. An "on the wayish" trip to the Nurburgring for a public open-days got us in the mood the way there and a special VIP guided tour of the Ferrari Factory (with a look at Schumacher testing the Enzo) after the trackday made the whole road tour more than worth while and very exclusive. That wasn't the last of it though as we managed to blag a lap around the Monte-Carlo Classic F1 GP circuit between qualifying and the races! 2002 certainly had VIP written all over it for the EasyInternationallers (not sure that's actually a word).

2003. Then came a circuit we spotted on the way to Hungary - the A1 Ring in Austria. We didn't know it at the time, but not only were we to be the first track day on the circuit, we'd actually be the last as the the circuit (tragically we think) got demolished before anyone else got the chance. Carved into a hill (read mountain by UK standards) there was no place so pretty for a race and why oh why did they cave in and let it get destroyed?? The locals certainly were not to blame...spotting 50 cars that ranged from Ultimas to Astons, Caterhams to Porsche, Ferrari to Mini and everything inbetween...they came out in force to make us feel welcome, even presenting us with flowers and fruit baskets!

It wasn't all about this unique trackday though as we took in the best of mountain roads and even stopped for a weekend of skiing (it was early June!). The evenings were long, the roads were twisty and the gang formed a bond never to be broken. 2003 was a year to remember.

Next up came Le Mans Bugatti circuit. Not strictly a GP track but worth the visit anyway. Not too far from home so we doubled up with a track day at Dijon Prenois and a road trip around the Swiss Alps. 2004 trip was again (in May this time) topped off with a bit of skiing, though not in Switzerland...die hard driving fans that we are we decided over lunch to extend the trip and a 20 strong contingent decided to extend the trip by a week - we ended up in Austria gain (it's the schnitzels!).


2005 and beyond >>