Brooklands mini day 29th March

[millermilla]

Hiya,

This should be the first event of the year for me. Is anyone else going. Ive not been for a few years but last time I went there was plenty to see especially if your also into aviation.

[Jezza]

Yep we're going and have already booked into a hotel to make a weekend of it. I've never been to this one before so looking forward to it.

Jeremy, Sara and Joseph (aged 10.5 months)

[Jezza]

Keith,

See you on the test hill for an ERA challenge?

[millermilla]

Sounds like fun I washed, polished and hovered the ERA yesterday in preperation and it's sitting in the garage raring to go. Looks like we could be lucky on the weather. Im driving up with Brighton Mini Club so there should be 20+ BMC cars all parked up together with a big flag so keep a look out. I never realised Brooklands had an ERA section in shed 4.

[Jezza]

We are off down to a hotel near Wokingham this morning and over to the event tomorrow morning. Just fired the car up and it is sounding good following a recent rolling road tune so hopefully all will be well. Washed and vac'd last weekend (though expecting rain today) and looks dry for Sunday.

I will try to look you up while we are there and I quite fancy the test hill for a bit of fun. The ERA shed seems like the ancestral home of the ERA Turbo so a fitting event really.

[millermilla]

Wow that was quite an impressive turnout for BRG ERA's I spotted 4 in total including mine.





Didnt really get a pic of my car but it is there, bottom right

[Jezza]

Cracking day out - yep we counted four ERA's as well. Did you see mine (G543 TFK) roaring up the test hill - great fun!

I have a couple of pics to post and did see your motor parked on the banking but hadn't got my camera with me at the time to take a pic.

[Jezza]

Here's a few pics from Brooklands.

[millermilla]

Yeah I saw your ERA Jeremy but I didnt get to see you do the run up the hill although everyone kept coming up to me telling me they had just seem me run my car up the hill. The ERA with the webasto roof was quite interesting as it also had diamond cut polished edges on the standard ERA wheels. Its a shame I didnt get to speak to you. I spent quite a while looking over the ERA's but seemed to somehow miss the owners each time. ohh well im sure ill catch up with you later in the year. I was quite tempted to run up the hill but everyone was telling me you needed good ground clearance so I didnt chance it.

[Jezza]

Met up with the guy who owned H671 WGN at the end of the day and had a chat with him - seemed a nice guy who says he gets on the forum occasionally.

The briefing for the test hill said you were supposed to have 6 inches of ground clearance to go up - I doubt any of the Mini's had that! I checked with one of the marshalls who assured me that he had seen an ERA go up previously so I thought I would give it a punt. Apparently the two dangerous areas for ground clearance are at the start and as you crest the hill at the top. I gave it some right foot at the start and had it wheelspinning and weaving from there until half way up the hill when I remembered that the top of the hill was where most cars bottom out so I eased right back. Probably took a fair chunk of life out of the front tyres but well worth it for the grin factor.

Next stop the HAMOC H2H run for me in April and the Brooklands test hill is good practice for the British Mini Showdown at Avon Park and the MITP at Santa Pod later in the year.

If anyone fancies doing Brroklands next year and like me is not local then I can recommend the Hilton St Anne's Manor in Bracknell, particularly when they have a half price offer on (£44 a night for the three of us when I booked in Jan). It is about 35 mins drive to Brooklands and walking distance from a nice Loch Fyne restaurant.