what's been going on & what to look forward to!
With winter on the way & performance cars across the country being tucked into their garages until next spring, Castle Combe Circuit is already starting to gear up for the 2015 season! Keep an eye out for the release of key dates very soon!
In the meantime take a look back at what’s been going on at the circuit over the last month including a great Grand Finals Race Day, an amazing Autumn Classic and multiple Charity Track Days that have raised thousands for some fantastic causes.
Racing may be over until next year but the Castle Combe Racing School is very much still in action with Startline,Rally & Racing School dates planned throughout November & December. Plus don’t forget all driving experiences can be bought as gift vouchers valid for 12 months and make fantastic Christmas Presents!
Grand Finals Formula Fords
Grand Finals Race DayA day that started very cold and wet for the morning’s qualifying turned into a lovely Autumnal afternoon for the last day of the Castle Combe Championships for 2014 as the sun shone down on some great track action. With some titles still to be decided it was bound to be a nailbiting day of competition and a great way to finish the season!
Autumn Classic - A Truly Classic Day!
Glorious October weather, fabulous cars, some cracking racing and a lovely period atmosphere, all came together to make the ‘Autumn Classic’ another brilliant day.
**Watch the highlights on MotorsTV** This two hour programme is brought to you by David Hathaway Quality Assured Logistics and can be found on Freeview Channel 71, Sky 447 and Virgin Media 545 onSaturday 1st November at 5.25pm, Monday 3rd at 3.15pm and Wednesday 5th at 9.35am (See the Autumn Classic website for more details).There was plenty of rarity at this year's event to delight even the enthusiast who has ‘seen it all’ & perhaps the most popular amongst the huge crowd were the pair of awesome machines from 1905. Mike Vardy was seen perched on a small seat overhanging the rear axle of his ‘Fiat Land Speed Record’ car, the driver’s bravery in unleashing its 16.5 litre engine was much admired! As was that of Robert Dyke, who just managed to tame the awesome ‘Whistling Billy’ steam powered racing car from 1905, with a potential top speed of 130 mph! Sliding through the corners in a car with wooden wheels and nothing much in the way of brakes provided a lovely contrast to some of the more ‘modern’ machinery, albeit still 50 years old!
Similarly impressive was Mark Hales’ demonstration of the 1957 Maserati 250F Grand Prix car owned by Pink Floyd drummer and petrol head Nick Mason from nearby Corsham. The Mason family and a valuable part of its car collection was on show and in action, with the unique sight of Annette Mason racing against Nick’s two daughters, Holly and Chloe in the ‘Historic Aston Martin’ race.
Charity Track ActionThe MiniWorld Action Day at the end of September welcomed back the Mighty Minis who provided charity passenger rides throughout the day in their wonderful fleet of cars. The queues of people waiting for a ride were really quite amazing as was the total they raised on the day for two charities - Chippenham's Springboard and national Cerebra for Cerebral Palsy. Over £3,200 was raised in total and earlier this month we were thrilled to present Springboard with a cheque for their percentage of the total. Huge thanks must go again to Mighty Minis on achieving such a fantastic amount!
October has also seen more charity track action with both the Stroke Association Super Car Saturday and a Charity Track Day organised by Christopher Darwin.
Christopher Darwin's Track Day on Thursday 9th October was as successful as ever with a grand total of £5001 raised on the day to be shared between Combat Stress and the Scleroderma Society. A great range of cars took part from 1960s classics to modern saloons and we look forward to welcoming back the event early next year! Contact Christopher for more information (c.darwin@virgin.net).
The Stroke Association Super Car Saturday was back at the circuit for it's 20th year last Saturday 25th October offering car lovers a chance to ride in one of a huge variety of performance vehicles on the track with a professional driver. Cars at this year's event included a Porsche 997 Turbo, Lotus Exige and many more with drivers such as Simon Tilling and Slim Borgudd demonstrating how to really drive around the track!This year the event raised over £10,500 which will go towards changing the lives of people affected by stroke.For more information and details about the event you can visit the Stroke Association website at: www.stroke.org.uk or alternatively call 0117 911 1493
Autocar Review of Britain's Best Driver's Car
Autocar's annual 'handling test' came back to where it began 25 years ago with 12 of the best driver's cars being tested to the max out on the circuit. Click here to find out how they got on out on track and which car came out on top!
Racing School datesExperience the thrill of driving around the circuit in one of our performance cars or sit back and let a professional take you round for a white knuckle passenger ride at one of our Racing School days in November or December:Dates for the diary:Saturday 8th NovemberSaturday 22nd NovemberSaturday 27th December
Final Startline Date of 2014!Looking for a pre-Christmas treat to celebrate the end of term?Book a Startline Young Driver Course for Sunday 7th DecemberThese super popular experiences are suitable for 12-16 year olds and always sell out fast so book early to avoid disappointment.Starter Drive - £55 (8.30am or 10.45 am)Advanced Drive - £95 (1pm)Advanced PLUS - £115 (8.30am)
2014 Circuit Photos!Thanks to all those who sent in pictures of their cars/bikes at track days this year. There were some great shots and we will be picking some to go into the 2015 brochures and on the Castle Combe Circuit website very soon! If you've taken any photos at the circuit this year that you think should also be used then please send them in! Whether it's from a track day, race meeting or racing school event we'd love to see them and they may even appear on our website or in this very newsletter next month!Please email all images to ameliac@castlecombecircuit.co.uk
Christmas at Castle Combe Circuit
The festive season is nearly upon us so why not kick start your Christmas shopping at the Circuit?!All driving experiences and passenger rides can be purchased as gift vouchers valid for 12 months from date of purchase and make fantastic presents!
Driving Experiences
Standard: 2hours, £110Advanced: 3hours, £255
Startline Young DriversFrom £55
Race Car ExperiencesSingle Seater: 3hours £185Lotus Elise: 5hours £355
Rally Drive3 hour experience £160
White Knuckle Passenger RidesFrom £40
Track Days
Car: £170, Bike: £130
Until next month...!
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