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#1 | ||
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 66
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Hotel near Silverstone - parking!
Heading down to Silverstone for a trackday next Wednesday, will be in Audi A8 with the track car on a trailer. Sadly I am not terribly good with trailers - basically as long as I keep going forwards I am OK but the moment I need to reverse it all gets very tricky. It's too far to do in a day - would mean leaving home at 4AM or something daft, will be heading down M6 M1 and A43. I'll probably be getting down there late on in knackered just want a kip mode. Does anyone have any recommendations for an OK hotel with idiot proof drive in park and drive out again car parking? Was wondering about the hotel at watford gap, but booking website says can't book there at the moment. I think there's a travelodge at Towcester - would the car park there meet my pathetic trailer management needs?
Ta Jim |
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#2 | ||
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Join Date: Jan 2005
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Shouldn't be a problem if you park at the rear. But it isn't well lit there at night.
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#3 | ||
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Join Date: Nov 2009
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The Green Man Premier travel in is only 2 miles away, large secure (with barriers) car park and is nicer than the travel lodge. You also dont need to tackle small roads as its on the A43.
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#4 | ||
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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The Green man sounds good - that's where a lot of the other BMW trackday guys are staying/having dinner etc.
Thanks for the suggestion. Jim |
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#5 | ||
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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Sadly Green man is fully booked up.
Any more suggestions guys?? |
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#6 | |
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Join Date: Dec 2000
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The Premier Inn at the Green Man was gutted by fire in early July.. so I'd avoid there!
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#7 | ||
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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Maybe that's why it's full already - just spoke to them and it was definitely Green man!
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#8 | |
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Yeh the Premier Inn was seperate but just behind the Green Man pub, didn't realise the Green Man had rooms, but it was a fairly big bit so guess it figures it does.
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#9 | |
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Join Date: Jun 2009
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Holiday Inn Express, just off the M40 at Banbury is good and has a very large car park.
Less than 20 minutes drive from the circuit. |
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#10 | ||
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#11 | ||
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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I decided to look at motorway service type places and then found a premier inn at J1 of the M6. Checked the car park out on google maps and it is safe for a dodgy trailer tower to go in. About 30 miles to Silverstone in the morning straight down M6 M1 A43.
So I booked that - everywhere nearer seemed to be full. Thanks for the helpful suggestions chaps. Jim |
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#12 | ||
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Without wishing to be too unkind...why not spend a couple of hours on an empty car park practicing your trailer reversing....its really not that complicated...and if you can't master it I'm not entirely certain that you ought to be let loose on a road.....or a race track!
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#13 | ||
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#14 | ||
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A simple trick that I was told (and find useful as I rarely tow a trailer nowadays) is to put your hands onto the bottom of the steering wheel when reversing.
Then if you move your hands in the direction that you want the trailer to go (left is clockwise for example), that is the way that the trailer will go. I think the other thing is to try not to get too far 'out of line' and don't be afraid to pull forward & straighten up to start again if it all goes wrong. Sadly I used to consider reversing my trailer almost as satisfying a driving skill as controlling a power slide... |
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#15 | ||
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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I need more practice at trailer towing, but apart from one trackday in July I've not towed anything other than a little box trailer to the tip before. I can do the reversing thing, and understand the physics of swinging the back end the wrong way to get the trailer moving the way I want it to initially, just not terribly good at it. Time is so precious (I am a hospital consultant with two young children and a wife who works full time), that a bit of practice is hard to get!
When I get to the premier inn hopefully the car park will be empty enough for me to practice a bit! |
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#16 | ||
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#17 | ||
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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For completeness I will post a closing comment on the thread.
Trackday not good, engine wouldn't rev past 4000 rpm, track covered in oil and marbles from 24 hour race at the weekend plus raining heavily. I couldn't even run around in the novices only session - not enough power to go fast enough on the straights, no need to brake for corners as I was so sloooow. Loaded up and came home. 13.7 track miles 300+ road miles. Had plenty of trailer reversing practice doing a 3 point turn in the hotel car park at 2330 as what looked like a suitable space wan't. Nearly shat myself this morning when I came out and saw the side of a merc I had been reversing next to was all bashed in. Then I remembered I had been the other side of it! Last edited by drjim; 6 Oct 2010 at 20:06. |
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#18 | |||
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#19 | ||
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#20 | |||
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#21 | |
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find some open land, get some cones and practice...
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