Me and my dad did the Oxford motorclub solo at Silverstone yesterday.
This was the first solo I had done since improving and sorting out my suspension so I wasn't quite sure what to expect from it but it was absolutly flying and once I got my tyre pressures right It had an amazing ammount of grip and would slide ever so slightly on the limit which was actually very useful for getting it round corners. It was quite an interesting event because it was done in a large carpark at silverstone, a much bigger area than usual so it was a series of fast long flowing courses. It required careful balance through the fast corners, getting the car on the limit of grip and holding it there, any attempts at too much speed resulting in sliding understeer and lost time.
This was the first solo my dad had done for a couple of years but I was still expecting to be blown away by the combination of the higher spec Ginetta and 30 extra years of driving experience however the car possibly isn't best suited to the job, struggling to stay on cam through the tighter corners requiring gear changes whereas I can stick it in second and stay there. It also looked a bit on the twitchy side, maybe due to the tyres being a bit past their best.
I ended up third of five in class E (specialist sports cars and other cars inelligable for normal classes) and maybe 30th overall (haven't got the full results sheet yet) and my dad ended up 4th of 5 in class F (pre 1980s Historics) and maybe 39th overall out of 59 entrants. Both pretty good results as a lot of the cars there were modified cars also used for rallying being driven by experienced solo drivers.
Notable cars that I beat included all 4 Mazda MX-5s, a Triumph GT6, a Mini with a 1600cc vauxhall red top engine in and of course a Blue G15
Still some way off the Lotus Elises however.
Wasn't the most reliable of days, my car wouldn't start before a set of runs due to a loose connection, my dads car had a sticking thermostat causing the temp to climb and climb (which we removed which seems to have fixed it) and I broke a throttle cable on the way home that was swiftly changed in a conveniently placed bustop before we were on our way.
It really is great fun and despite our problems, it isn't hard on the car. I would recommend them as a fun way of stretching your imp a little bit without any real risk, according to my digital dashboard the top speed I hit was 39mph so it isn't dangerous and I think it definately helps improve driving skill.