Joel Miller – Back to England

Bedford, England (October 25, 2007) – Arriving back into the UK after a month’s time in the U.S. gave me the feeling that I was only gone for a few days. However, one noticeable difference was the weather! Yes, it is cold now. Anyways, Pat and I got our things together this morning and jumped into our loaner VW to see what Chris Dredge from FPA had in store for us. After saying our good mornings it was first things first; off to check the emails, reply to those, and send out new ones. Today, Chris was able to set up a 20-minute run at Brands Hatch in the MotorsportVision school cars to get us acclimated to the circuit. We got our directions and were off, except not in our VW because it ran into some engine trouble that was being fixed so we had a SUV now. After numerous U-turns, Pat trying to figure out his map, and various back country roads we made it to our desired freeway [they’re known as motorways in the UK, Joel – ed]. A few hours later we pulled into the Brands Hatch paddock. There was no time for introductions, but straight to the hot pit and into the car. I did not even put on my driving suit, and luckily I had thin bottom shoes. With only my helmet, lightweight jacket and gloves I went out for the 20-minute run. The school car that I was in had been tuned down quite a bit, but I was still able to learn which way the track went. Turn 1 (paddock hill) is definitely an eye-opener as the drop off and compression is really intense. I am looking forward to driving the FPA cars around this circuit as it has some interesting corners. After Pat and I completed our given laps we had a look around the facility before leaving to go back to Bedford. On our way home we stopped at a shopping mall to purchase a few items and eat some dinner. This time, on the way home, my co pilot fell asleep on me, but I managed not to get lost and made it back to our B&B. Our plan tomorrow is to drive back to the Brands Hatch area in the afternoon and check into the hotel in preparation for the weekend. Our fist on track session will be Friday at noon.