Dom's Escorts - Orange Mk1 (XMT 441G)

The Track Day (Snetterton 25th November 2001)
I arranged to pick up my friend Martin to help share the cost of the fuel and lodgings. We decided to drive up the day before to allow plenty of time for breakdowns. We needn't have worried. The car covered the 110 miles from Maidstone to Snetterton with no problems. I was sure glad that I had fitted the 5 speed gearbox though.

I'm pleased to say that the car didn't miss a beat all day and, more importantly considering the weather, did miss everything else! The rear tyres were brand new Pirelli P6000's but the front were old Kumho's. Needless to say, the front end suffered massive understeer on a couple of the corners while the back was suprisingly competant. Time for some matching front tyres methinks.

The other cars were a real mixed bunch. Quite a lot of Lancer Evos which isn't suprising because the day was organised by the Mitsubishi Lancer Register. The cars ranged from a Mini to a 600bhp Skyline R33. The closest in performace terms were a Peugeot 1.9 GTi and a Porsche 944. We seemed to be able pull a car length or so over the Peugeot down the long straight and the Porsche could pull a car length over us.

I came away with a list of planned improvements. The first being new front tyres and the second a 22mm RS anti-roll bar. The extra weight of the pinto causing the car to roll far more than I expected. Obviously, more power was next on the list!